The patent and royalty-related legal battle between Apple and Qualcomm rumbles on. Most recently, a California judge ruled that hundreds of millions of smartphone buyers have paid over the odds for their devices as a direct result of Qualcomm paying Apple a sum of money to guarantee the exclusive use of its chips between 2011 and 2016, actively blocking out competitors, for which Qualcomm has been slapped with a $1.2 billion fine.
In addition, an International Trade Commission judge turned down Qualcomm’s request for a temporary ban on US imports of iPhone handsets (and the sale of any handsets already imported) during the legal process, arguing that public interest outweighs Qualcomm’s.
