Why patent wars will rumble on

By Chris Nuttall

Patent and royalties cases can be hideously complex, hard for a jury to understand and therefore unpredictable in their outcome. So it’s easy to see why Apple and Qualcomm settled out of court on Tuesday and a case that was expected to last one-and-a-half months was brought to a close after one-and-a-half days.

5G was another, more pressing, reason for Apple to come to a worldwide resolution of its disputes with Qualcomm. Apple’s reliance on Intel wireless modem chips for the latest generation of wireless communication was misplaced. IPhone 5G models expected next year risked delays as Intel was going to deliver much later than Qualcomm (and has now got out of the business on the back of yesterday’s news).

Now, Apple will make an unspecified one-off payment to Qualcomm in settlement, license its tech for at least six years, pay royalties and buy chipsets.

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