After Chinese Ban, A German Court Too Has Banned Iphone Products In Country Only If...

A German court yesterday, passed a ruling in favour of US chipmaker Qualcomm in a dispute with Apple over patents infringements. The ruling could lead to a ban on sales of iPhones in Germany.

The patent claims in the dispute by the US chipmaker affects Apple's products, such as the iPhone 7, 7plus, 8, 8plus, and the X.

"The ruling effectively outlaws the offering and placing on the market of the finished product in Germany, including the sale. The iPhone 7plus, 7, 8, 8plus and the X are affected," the regional Munich court said.


However, since Apple can appeal the ruling from a higher court, the court said the injunction banning the sales of the affected Apple products can only be imposed if Qualcomm made a deposit of 668.4 million euros ($765 million) to serve as security, if things later goes in favour of Apple.

The 668.4 million euros the court is demanding is to serve as compensation to Apple if it carries out the injunction, and then a higher court overrules it.

Qualcomm and Apple, the two US tech companies whose headquarters are in California have been at logger heads with each other over royalties and patents. The two tech giants have taken their battle worldwide.

On Monday this week, a court in China banned the import of the above selected Apple products from the country, following the Qualcomms lawsuits against Apple.

Court Effects Ban On Sales And Importation Of Iphone In Germany

Following US chip maker Qualcomm's lawsuit against Apple over patent infringements and royalties, a German court on Friday placed a ban on the sales of affected iPhones, ordering the tech giant to pull out all infringing iPhones from its German store and third party resellers out of the country.

If you recall, a German court in December 20, 2018 passed a ruling in favour of Qualcomm. However, the ruling couldn't be effected because Apple could appeal to a higher court which could overturn the injunction.

Also Read: Chinese Boy Who Sold His Kidney To Buy An iPhone Now Disabled For Life

For the injunction to be enforced, the court told the US chip maker to post a security bond which which will be served as compensation to Apple in case a higher court later ruled in favour of Apple.

"Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that it has posted security bonds totaling €1.34 billion (Euros)," Qualcomm said in a placed a ban on the sales of the affected iPhone models in the country.

Apple is having a real hard time. From disappointing low sales to falling stocks, Apple isn't finding it funny.

However, there might be hope for Apple if the US Federal Trade Commission, which has dragged Qualcomm to court over abuse of licensing mobile chip patents, eventually wins the case.

Sales Of Iphones Has Been Banned In China, But Qualcomm Is Still Pushing For More

The Fuzhou Immediate People's Court in China, on Monday banned the import and sales of select iPhones, following a lawsuit Qualcomm filed against Apple.

According to the law suite filled, the mobile chip manufacturer claimed Apple violated its patents, and the company demanded an injunctive relief over the misuse of its IP.

Due to the court ruling, Apple had to pull out her phones from iPhone 6s all the way to iPhone X, but didn't include the 2018 iPhone models that they are not affected by the ruling. However, the chipset maker thinks otherwise and now files for an injunction of the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR in China in its next court battle with Apple. 

Following the ban on its products, Apple warned that the ban would hurt Chinese manufacturers like Foxconn, and at the same time renders 5 million of Chinese citizen jobless across its supply chain.

Qualcomm which is the biggest provider of mobile chips in the world, and it gets a portion of revenue from licensing its technologies to hundred of device makers. Now Qualcomm charges phone manufacturers based on the device's value rather than the component.

Qualcomm owns patents related to 3G and 4G phones. Thus, phone manufacturers that build 3G and 4G capable phones will have to pay a licensing fee to Qualcomm even if they don't use their chips. And that also applies to Apple who wants to pay for the chip and not the entire value of the phone.