SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 24, 2018 –
Apple was dealt another setback in its multi-jurisdiction legal war with longtime supplier Qualcomm, saying it would pull some iPhones from German stores while it appealed a ruling that some models violate a Qualcomm patent.
Apple said in a statement that iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models would not be sold in its retail stores in Germany while it appeals the ruling, issued Thursday by a district court in Munich. The company said those iPhone models would continue to be available through carrier and third-party retailers in Germany and that its latest iPhone models would remain available in its German stores.
The Munich ruling is the second consecutive blow to Apple in its sprawling fight with its longtime baseband modem chip supplier, coming a little more than a week after a Chinese court barred Apple from selling there several models of the iPhone that were found to violate two Qualcomm patents.
Romit Shah, a managing director and senior analyst at Nomura Instinet, said in a report circulated Thursday that the recent rulings strengthen Qualcomm's position in negotiations with Apple. "We believe these two rulings likely push Apple closer to a resolution with Qualcomm," Shah said.
Click here to read more