US: Qualcomm calls Apple CEO’s comments “misleading”

According to a report by Reuters, Qualcomm responded to comments Apple’s Tim Cook made in an interview, in which he said there had been no recent settlement talks between the iPhone maker and chip supplier in their global legal battle, calling Cook’s remarks “misleading.”

In a television interview on CNBC earlier on Tuesday, January 8, Cook responded to a question from host Jim Cramer about whether Apple would settle with Qualcomm after Qualcomm had announced legal victories against Apple in patent cases in China and Germany.

“Look, the truth is, we haven’t been in any settlement discussions with them since the third calendar quarter of last year. That is the truth. So I’m not sure where that thinking is coming from,” Cook said.

Cook’s comments contrasted with those Qualcomm’s CEO Steven Mollenkopf made in November on CNBC.

“We do talk as companies, and I think what you’re seeing, really, are activities consistent, really, with the fourth quarter of the game, and not the first quarter,” Mollenkopf told CNBC then. “We always talk about – and I’ve been very consistent – that this second half of [2018] and into [2019], is when we’re really on the doorstep of finding a resolution.”

Apple has accused Qualcomm of engaging in illegal patent licensing practices to preserve a dominant market position in so-called modem chips, which help mobile phones connect to wireless data networks. Qualcomm has argued that its practices followed decades-long tech industry norms and that Apple has not fairly compensated it for its intellectual property.

Full Content: Reuters

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