The Apple versus Qualcomm battle has taken on a new dimension with the chip maker firing fresh new salvos at the Cupertino giant. For as per the latest on this, Qualcomm has accused Apple of infringing on three more of its patents, bringing the total number of patent infringements claims against the iPhone maker at 16.
The latest move from Qualcomm can also be seen as a response to Apple’s filing of new cases against the former. Apple in its suit, filed just a few days back, accused Qualcomm of infringing on no less than eight patents related to battery life owned by Apple.
Meanwhile, among the new cases filed against Apple include one that deals with ‘depth-based image enhancement’ technology for portrait mode which Qualcomm says is a gross violation of its patent. Other violations as pointed out by the chip maker have to do with patents dealing with carrier aggregation, memory and battery saving technologies.
What could be even more devastating for Apple is that Qualcomm is also seeking a ban on the import of any iPhone devices that come with Intel chips. That includes the latest iPhone 8 duo as well as the more in demand iPhone X currently on offer from AT&T and T-Mobile.
Qualcomm has earlier sought a similar ban on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus devices that are powered by Intel chips as per a complaint with the ITC. That was in July, and the ban was sought on some iPad models as well.
The case dates back to January this year when Apple first took Qualcomm to court seeking damages to the tune of $1 billion. Apple also accused the chipmakers of following unfair trade practices and is demanding a much higher royalty than what it should do in reality. Qualcomm responded by filing counter claims accusing the former of infringing on its patents.
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Apple is yet to respond to the latest development. The ITC has stated in August it has begun investigating claims made by Qualcomm but is yet to come to a conclusion on it.
