Part of Qualcomm's revenues is from the tech licenses offered to mobile phone makers. However, Apple doesn't feel that the chipset provider has given fair terms and is looking for a better arrangement.
There are a few statements in Apple's lawsuit, involving Qualcomm's power abuse. The document mentions that Qualcomm has required the California company to pay a percentage of iPhone's profits for using the patents.
It's been reported that the royalty calculation being applied is based on the phone's full price due to the many mobile features that utilizes the technology. Qualcomm also claims that the type of manner has been used in various industries.
In the suit, Apple alleges Qualcomm for breaching FRAND patent commitments. Digital Trends has noted that Apple sues Qualcomm in two countries, in the U.S. ($1 billion) and China ($145 billion).
Apple's $1 billion lawsuit against Qualcomm is "an all-out attack on the business model" https://t.co/91iJBKj2Hd pic.twitter.com/UInsKDBLDL
— Forbes (@Forbes) January 25, 2017
Qualcomm responded Apple's lawsuit with sentiment by saying that the Cupertino giant is doing the effort to grab money from its supplier. CEO Steve Mollenkopf said that Qualcomm never raises its royalty fees albeit the increasing price of its intellectual property.
Qualcomm Executive Vice President, Don Rosenberg, said that there hasn't been any monopoly power in the chip market and the company never forbids manufacturers from buying from other chip providers.
Furthermore, Qualcomm stated that Apple has earned profits from utilizing the technology but it wanted to pay less than it should.
In addition to the comment, Qualcomm is currently reviewing the documents but it plans to file a lawsuit but familiar sources did not detail in which countries the filing will take place, according to Recode.
From the past experience, Qualcomm did not immediately cut off the chip supplies - indicating that Apple may still be using the technology despite of any dispute.
