Qualcomm Wants Apple to Pay $31 Million in Damages in Patent Battle

[MacRumors]

Qualcomm today told a San Diego jury that it wants Apple to pay $31 million in damages for patent infringement violations, which is allegedly equivalent to $1.40 per infringing iPhone.

The new information comes from CNET, which has been covering the Qualcomm vs. Apple patent trial that's in court this week.

$1.40 per iPhone and a total of $31 million in damages suggests that Qualcomm believes only 22 million iPhones are infringing on its technology. Qualcomm came up with that total with the help of economist Patrick Kennedy, who took the stand as an expert witness for Qualcomm today. Kennedy calculated the figure based on iPhones sold from July 2017 on that used chips by Intel. Apple started using a mix of chips from both Intel and Qualcomm in the iPhone 7, and later transitioned to all Intel chips due to the legal troubles with Qualcomm.

Qualcomm and Apple are fighting over three patents that Qualcomm says Apple infringed on with its iPhones. As CNET describes, one of the patents covers a method for allowing a smartphone to quickly connect to the internet once turned on, while another covers graphics processing and battery life. The third patent Apple is accused of violating allows apps to download data more easily by directing traffic between the apps processor and modem.

Apple just last quarter earned more than $20 billion in profit, so $31 million in damages wouldn't be a hit to the company's bottom line. If Qualcomm wins the trial, though, its claim that its technology is at the "heart of every iPhone" would be more credible.

Apple and Qualcomm have been fighting since January 2017, when Apple sued Qualcomm for $1 billion in unpaid royalty fees. Qualcomm countersued, and since then, the two companies have levied multiple lawsuits against one another. Two of Qualcomm's lawsuits have resulted in import bans in Germany and China, both of which Apple was able to skirt with hardware and software updates.

The current patent trial between Apple and Qualcomm will last through next week.

Article Link: Qualcomm Wants Apple to Pay $31 Million in Damages in Patent Battle

 

[KGBguy]

Very nice, how much?

And the battle goes on...

 

[Cosmosent]

That number makes NO sense ... that number is in the Noise Margin !

Now, Warren is a MUCH BIGGER issue for AAPL than Qualcomm !

 

[DocMultimedia]

Seems tiny by Apple standards. Probably less than court fees for this endless case.

 

[nt5672]

Doesn't make sense to me. If Apple used Intel chips, and it's the chips that violate the patent, then shouldn't they be suing Intel?

 

[JustThinkin']

Apple should just pay or settle it now at this bargain, instead of locking themselves out of 5G for another year - for which they’ll pay a much higher price.

They may have gotten away with it during the switch to LTE, but in today’s stagnant market they can’t afford the lost market share.

There may be many other “possibilities” for 5G, but Qualcomm will likely have a real one (with low power consumption) available and working well before the year’s out.

 

[cmaier]

That’s very little. Weak counter-attack by Qualcomm.
[doublepost=1552078869][/doublepost]

Apple should just pay or settle it now at this bargain, instead of locking themselves out of 5G for another year - for which they’ll pay a much higher price.

They may have gotten away with it during the switch to LTE, but in today’s stagnant market they can’t afford the lost market share.

There may be many other “possibilities” for 5G, but Qualcomm will likely have a real one (with low power consumption) available and working well before the year’s out.

That’s just for the 3 patents in this case. That’s not for the FRAND portfolio.

 

[tridley68]

I don't think this fairy tail figure is going to happen.

 

[ChrisNH]

Aside from the scale and scope of the rocks that each company is throwing at each other is this: Apple is legendary for really putting the screws to its suppliers, often unfairly. That's what leverage will do. In this case, they don't have that kind of leverage.

 

[HJM.NL]

Seems tiny by Apple standards. Probably less than court fees for this endless case.

I would say PAY and move on. Indeed lawyers are probably more expensive. These court actions will go at the expense of going forward.

 

[AngerDanger]

I like to imagine the collective sigh of MacRumors' writers whenever more news of patent litigation comes in. Then they all gather around and draw straws to see who has to type it up.

Did… did I just write and animate MacRumors fan fiction?

And, yes, that's Tim Hardwick, @earthTOmitchel, and @jclo all on @Joe Rossignol's body. I got lazy.

 

[JustThinkin']

That’s very little. Weak counter-attack by Qualcomm.
[doublepost=1552078869][/doublepost]

That’s just for the 3 patents in this case. That’s not for the FRAND portfolio.

It’s a start, and they need to get their priorities straight - don’t win the battle to lose the war.

Apple can make the best smartphone out there by spending just a tiny bit more per phone. They have the best processors, so add in the best modem (along with the screen, these are arguably the three most important components).

 

[Rocketman]

It appears $1.40 per device is alot less than what they are asking in other suits around the world, hence the blastback, besides the obvious ethical one Apple often hangs its hat on.

If the worldwide royalty is $1.40 per device using their chips, given what Apple has already paid, it appears they are due a refund.

Please correct me.

 

[EBone12355]

Oh Qualcomm, you're really setting yourself up for disaster. Do you know why Apple is opening a tech campus here in San Diego with 1,200+ employees? It's so they can poach your best and brightest away from you.

 

[Crowbot]

I would say PAY and move on. Indeed lawyers are probably more expensive. These court actions will go at the expense of going forward.

I'd be inclined to pay too. But it would create legal precedents. That's all Apple would be worried about.

 

[KPandian1]

I would say PAY and move on. Indeed lawyers are probably more expensive.

If Apple settles this, it might set itself up for a precedent for other lawsuits - the amount lobbied is deceptively small. I don't see Apple settling.

Oh Qualcomm, you're really setting yourself up for disaster. Do you know why Apple is opening a tech campus here in San Diego with 1,200+ employees? It's so they can poach your best and brightest away from you.

They can poach the brains, but the products (IP, Patents) are not going anywhere. Products not in the pipeline yet maybe the ones that suffer.

 

[cmaier]

It appears $1.40 per device is alot less than what they are asking in other suits around the world, hence the blastback, besides the obvious ethical one Apple often hangs its hat on.

If the worldwide royalty is $1.40 per device using their chips, given what Apple has already paid, it appears they are due a refund.

Please correct me.

This amount is just for the three non-FRAND patents, not the rest of qualcomm’s Portfolio.
[doublepost=1552080184][/doublepost]

I'd be inclined to pay too. But it would create legal precedents. That's all Apple would be worried about.

The legal fees for this one particular lawsuit are a lot less than $21M. And paying gets apple nowhere - they still have to deal with the rest of qualcomm’s Portfolio and the other lawsuits.

 

[JetTester]

Waa waa, a bunch of billionaires sitting in a room puffing their chests out and letting their egos go wild. Tired of hearing about it, cry-babies.

 

[UK-MacAddict]

$31m is pocket change for Apple lol.

Maybe Qualcomm doesn’t want to punish Apple too hard in the hopes they can do big business in the future.

Apple is a huge customer to lose. Apple skirted the ban in Germany I believe by changing out the Intel chips for Qualcomm’s.

 

[macfacts]

The real reason apple stopped releasing iPhone sale numbers. It was to stop suppliers from calculating the total money owed.

 

[cmaier]

Waa waa, a bunch of billionaires sitting in a room puffing their chests out and letting their egos go wild. Tired of hearing about it, cry-babies.

Nobody’s making you seek out web sites that talk about it.

 

[diddl14]

Hard to imagine Apple would go trough a major legal battle for this kind of pocket money. There's clearly much more at stake here.

 

[calzon65]

I think Tim Cook has $31 million in his pocket.

Tim to Qualcomm … will that be check, cash or can I use my Visa card

 

[class77]

For Pete's sake Apple, pay Qualcomm and get some decent modems back in your damn phones! It's a pittance for you and I'm paying $1000 per phone for a vastly inferior setup from Intel. My Verizon iPhone 6 with had better reception than my iPhone Xs. This is going to magnified when you move to 5G and Qualcomm is the international leader

 

[pat500000]

Seems like apple is still being stubborn. Pay it off and unite.