US: Foxconn attorney: no settlement with Qualcomm

Lead attorney for Apple assembly firm Foxconn released a statement saying that neither Foxconn nor Apple would seek a settlement in court with Qualcomm over the companies’ ongoing legal tug-of-war.

The conflict is but one aspect of the global legal battle between regulators, Apple, and Qualcomm—which supplies modem chips that help phones connect to wireless data networks.

Last week, Qualcomm secured a preliminary victory in a patent lawsuit in China that would have banned sales of some Apple iPhones there. Apple later stated it believed it was already in compliance, but would change its software “to address any possible concern” about its compliance.

The group of contract manufacturers—which includes Foxconn parent Hon Hai Precision Industry, Pegatron Corp, Wistron Corp, and Compal Electronics—became embroiled in the dispute between Apple and Qualcomm last year.

In the supply chain for electronics, contract manufacturers buy Qualcomm chips and pay royalties when they build phones, and are in turn reimbursed by companies like Apple. Qualcomm sued the group last year, alleging they had stopped paying royalties related to Apple products, and Apple joined the defense.

In response to Qualcomm’s lawsuit, the group of manufacturers filed their own lawsuit against Qualcomm. The group is seeking US$9 billion in damages for Qualcomm’s practice of charging money for chips but then also asking for a cut of the adjusted selling price of a mobile phone as a patent royalty payment. The manufacturers’ group claims this constitutes an anticompetitive business practice.

Full Content: Reuters

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