Qualcomm files three new patent infringement complaints against Apple, seeks ITC ban on iPhones that use competing Intel chips
(Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) said on Thursday it filed three new patent infringement complaints against Apple Inc (AAPL.O), saying there were 16 more of its patents that Apple was using in its iPhones.
Context & Ripple Effects
Qualcomm is widening a fight that began as a royalty dispute into an exclusion-order campaign. In July it asked the US ITC to block imports of certain iPhone models built on Intel components over six non-standard-essential patents (its first ITC complaint); by October it had filed a parallel suit in China seeking to halt iPhone sales and manufacturing there (the China ban action).
The escalation runs both ways: days before this filing, Apple countersued, claiming Snapdragon chips used across Android devices infringe its own patents (the Snapdragon countersuit), and back in May Qualcomm had sued Apple's assemblers — Compal, Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron — directly for unpaid royalties. Today's three new complaints add 16 more patents to the tally and renew the push for an ITC ban aimed specifically at Intel-chip iPhones.
First-order effects
- Apple now faces 16 additional patent allegations across three fresh complaints, while the renewed ITC request puts imports of Intel-equipped iPhone models at direct risk of an exclusion order.
- Intel's modem business is effectively named in the dispute: Qualcomm's filings target iPhones using competing Intel chips, making Intel's silicon the legal proxy in the fight.
Second-order effects
- Apple's countersuit over Snapdragon chips drags Android handset makers' supply chain into the crossfire, giving Qualcomm an incentive to settle quickly or defend its flagship chip line.
- Contract manufacturers like Foxconn, Pegatron, Compal and Wistron — already sued by Qualcomm for royalties — sit between two litigants whose dispute they did not start, raising their cost of doing business with either side.
Third-order effects
- If Qualcomm keeps pairing US ITC petitions with foreign court actions, component sourcing decisions like Apple's shift to Intel modems become litigation exposure, and exclusion orders turn into standard leverage in chip-licensing negotiations.
- A pattern of suing manufacturers alongside the brand customer points toward contract assemblers demanding indemnification clauses, reshaping who bears IP risk in the electronics supply chain.
The trend: The Qualcomm–Apple conflict is escalating from a royalty disagreement into parallel multi-jurisdiction exclusion-order campaigns, with each side weaponizing patents against the other's core products.