US ITC to Rule on Apple, Qualcomm Dispute

Qualcomm may find a trade judge ruling in favour of the company on a case involving the request to ban import of iPhones with a modem chip from Intel Corp. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has numerous other lawsuits filed by Qualcomm against Apple, on its table. The issue seems to be, however, that a verdict that goes against the interests of Apple will lead to several of the other lawsuits going in a similar direction, which will not bode well for Apple.

The call to ban imports of this nature comes in the midst of Apple’s attempts to boost sales following a detrimental admission of the fact that in the past, software upgrades of its iOS operating system deliberately slowed down older models of the iPhone, forcing owners to purchase the newest iPhone on the market by default. The company has since rectified this situation, but as it continues to launch higher-end phones, judgements in cases such as this that could go against the company will prove to be yet more hurdles to try and jump over, in a world that sees iOS as one of the most popular alternatives to the Android operating system for smart mobile devices.

In a gesture of returning blame, Apple has accused Qualcomm of illegal practices, in an attempt to level the playing field. However, in the past, Qualcomm has had to cough up billions of dollars in settlements across the world as antitrust regulators in other countries have prosecuted the company for implemented decisions deemed to be outside of the realm of fair business practices.