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SAN FRANCISCO – Qualcomm accused Apple of stealing proprietary software and sharing it with rival chip maker Intel as part of a plan to reduce Apple's reliance on Qualcomm technology.
The claim, made in documents filed in the California Superior Court in San Diego Monday night, adds to accusations that Qualcomm reached last year and intensifies a vast legal battle raging between the two tech giants since early 2017.
Qualcomm said that Apple had initiated a "multi-year negligent, inappropriate and misleading conduct campaign to steal Qualcomm's information and trade secrets" in order to improve the performance of Intel chips so that they could match Qualcomm products.
The hardware used included computer source code, software development tools, and log files that provided performance data for Qualcomm products, according to the filed document.
A spokesman for Apple on Tuesday referred to statements issued by the company since the beginning of the fight continue Qualcomm early 2017 about patent royalties that phone makers are required to pay to the San Diego company. Apple contends that Qualcomm's business practices are harming Apple and the entire technology industry illegally.
In court documents, Apple is complaining that Qualcomm has not provided evidence regarding stolen information, although Apple has provided extensive access to documents from the company. ;business. Qualcomm, in turn, accuses Apple of having dragged its feet to provide the information needed to bolster its accusations.
An Intel spokesman declined to comment.
Qualcomm, the leading provider of modem chips enabling smartphones to communicate over cellular networks, became Apple's main source for this type of chips in iPhones in 2011. But Apple has decided to remove Qualcomm as a supplier; The new iPhones announced this month only use Intel's modem chips.
Qualcomm, which has also been sued by the Federal Trade Commission and foreign regulators over its patent licensing practices, has filed patent infringement and other actions in response to Apple's complaint. In the case of San Diego, Qualcomm initially accused Apple of violating a key agreement governing the use of the two companies' proprietary technology.
The agreement contained a series of restrictions to protect Qualcomm's source code and other information, restrictions that Apple partially violated by sharing information with Intel, Qualcomm said in the original complaint.
In its latest move, Qualcomm has provided more claims in order to persuade a judge to expand the lawsuit to cover the theft of trade secrets. This issue should be examined at a hearing on November 30, while a trial is scheduled for April.
Qualcomm officials, as well as some analysts, believe that the dispute with Apple is essentially a dispute over the smartphone manufacturer's contribution to the Qualcomm patent license. Steve Mollenkopf, General Manager of Qualcomm, expressed the hope that an agreement could be reached with Apple.
"This really creates a better environment for us to solve at least the licensing issues we have," Mr Mollenkopf said in an interview in July.
The battle of Qualcomm with Apple is one of the many challenges that the company has recently faced. He fought a bid by rival Broadcom for four months before President Trump blocked the offer for reasons of national security. More recently, Qualcomm canceled a $ 44 billion takeover bid to buy NXP after the Chinese authorities did not approve the deal.
Follow Don Clark on Twitter: @ donal888
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