The patent dispute between Apple and Qualcomm moved on another step this week as the US International Trade Commission (ITC) agreed to investigate Qualcomm’s patent claims. The investigation was filed last month and should be complete by the end of September.
Analyst Comment
Analysts in this area are suggesting that this deal will eventually be settled with a large up front payment by Apple to Qualcomm and lower on-going royalties, which would have advantages for both sides. Each of the firms needs the other, so this issue is really just about the terms of a deal. We have also seen reports that Huawei is not paying Qualcomm at the moment based on reported comments from Bernstein Research. Qualcomm has said that someone is not paying the full royalty due, in addition to Apple and its sub-contractors. (BR).
