Apple is suing silicon manufacturer Qualcomm for roughly $1 billion USD, stating that the company has been”charging royalties for technologies they have nothing to do with.”
The lawsuit comes after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Qualcomm earlier this week over a dispute related to unfair patent licensing practises. Qualcomm says it plans to “vigorously contest” the FTC’s suit, which the company believes is based on inaccurate information.
“We are extremely disappointed in the way Qualcomm is conducting its business”
The Cupertino, California-based tech giant states that Qualcomm has taken “radical steps” that include “withholding nearly $1 billion in payments from Apple as retaliation for responding truthfully to law enforcement agencies investigating them.”
The tech giant also stated, “Despite being just one of over a dozen companies who contributed to basic cellular standards, Qualcomm insists on charging Apple at least five times more in payments than all the other cellular patent licensors we have agreements with combined.”
“We are extremely disappointed in the way Qualcomm is conducting its business with us and unfortunately after years of disagreement over what constitutes a fair and reasonable royalty we have no choice left but to turn to the courts,” continued Apple in a statement.
In the lawsuit filing, Apple accuses Qualcomm of overcharging for its silicon after refusing to pay approximately $1 billion in agreed upon rebates related to processor purchases. Apple says that Qualcomm withheld the rebates because of the company’s discussions with South Korea’s antitrust regulator, which has fined the silicon manufacturer in the past for patent licensing related issues.
Image credit: Flickr — Jon Jordon
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