US: Apple, Qualcomm patent dispute goes to court in April

Attorneys sparred in federal court Friday, January 25, over whether a judge should find Qualcomm’s patent license offer to Apple was fair, reported Courthouse News. The patent litigation between Apple and Qualcomm heads toward trial this spring.

Apple sued Qualcomm in the Southern District of California in 2017 over claims Qualcomm’s monopoly on chipset technology used in smartphones caused Apple and its contract manufacturers to overpay to use the patented technology.

At Friday’s late afternoon court hearing, Apple attorney Ruffin Cordell, with Fish & Richardson of Washington DC, argued US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel should not make a declaratory judgment finding Qualcomm’s patent license is fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory, or FRAND, reported Courthouse News.

“The reason they are doing [this] is to use it as a negotiating tool for ongoing talks with Apple should those ever resume,” Cordell said in urging Curiel not to find Qualcomm’s patent license is FRAND-compliant.

The trial in San Diego is scheduled for April 15.

Full Content: Court House News

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