Apple and Qualcomm were once the partners in business, but now they are not. With the disagreements on almost every topic, they do not have the best relationship as of now, as the battle between these two companies is now in the San Diego court. The global struggle of two tech giants is taking a wrong turn as the ball is in San Diego’s courts. A special hearing on the battle of Apple and Qualcomm is scheduled one week later, so the tensions between these two companies are at highest levels.
Both of the companies are fighting the war in three continents with prestigious legal teams. Next week, the federal court of San Diego will address the lawsuit filed by Apple and counterclaims by Qualcomm. As this is the high-profile lawsuit, the chief executives of the respective companies will share their stand in the courts. Whatever the result of this lawsuit is, the result is going to affect the smartphone market and ultimately the customers. According to the lawsuit filed by Apple and four other manufacturers from Asia, the companies have paid $9 billion in excess for royalties to Qualcomm. If we consider the antitrust claims, the amount will reach $27 billion in total.
Apple claimed that Qualcomm had charged excess of $3.1 billion for the patents that they have no rights. Also, the company is asking the refund of excess $3.1 billion that they have paid. Qualcomm has already lost the preliminary rulings, in which it is ruled that they should pay $1 billion to Apple. In return, Qualcomm is asking for $7.5 billion from Four other Asian companies in the unpaid royalties, and Apple, the amount would be double, $15 billion. Currently, Qualcomm is not in good form as they are under scrutiny from Chinese and South Korean government authorities for suspicious business practices.
