One of the mysteries between Apple and the Qualcomm closed this week another cycle. After the final arguments were presented, it was the jury of eight people yesterday to set the tone for this court battle. That is, more or less deliberations will continue today, as reported by the 9to5Mac.
However, a preliminary decision of another process among the tech giants may have left Qualcomm in a tricky situation. Accordingly, Judge Gonzalo Curiel of the Southern California District Court held that the chipmaker owes Apple nearly $ 1 billion. The information is from Reuters.
More precisely, this case is related to Apple's lawsuit against Qualcomm in 2017 over an alleged monopoly in the wireless chip market. At the time, Ma claimed that the manufacturer had violated a "business cooperation" agreement between the two.
More precisely, in that agreement Qualcomm agreed that it would give Apple a discount on payments from royalties of its patents (related to modems used in iPhones) if the Cupertino giant agreed to sue or even "hand it over" to the regulatory bodies of South Korea.
In this no-one-no-joke game, Apple missed about $ 1 billion for royalties Unduly charged by Qualcomm all this money would be withheld because Apple cooperated with Korean antitrust agencies.
The payments were part of a system that also involved Apple's suppliers, who had to comply with Qualcomm's patent licensing bureaucracies. In fact, the factories that make iPhones paid $ 1 billion a year to chip makers for the use of their patented technology, a cost that was later reimbursed by Apple.
Qualcomm explained that it has stopped giving discounts on the payment of royalties because Apple broke the deal by denouncing the company's monopoly practices, as well as making “false” statements from South Korea's Fair Trade Commission. Ma, in turn, said it was giving legal responses to Korean regulators as part of ongoing investigation.
Despite the decision in favor of Ma, it is possible to imagine that a cooperation agreement with Qualcomm on such a serious monopoly practice would not go well for Ma. For Qualcomm Vice President Don Rosenberg, the “Apple Exposition” at these welcome events. ”
As we said, the decision of the judge is only preliminary and may not be the same as after the trial, which begins in April. However, Qualcomm is unlikely to pay a fine as high as today. We'll see.
