The Apple-Qualcomm patent case was expected to end in 2019 over a patent. According to a report by Engadget in 2019, “The two companies have settled their patent royalty dispute, ending all ongoing legal action (including with Apple’s manufacturing partners). Apple has agreed to pay Qualcomm an unspecified amount, while both sides have struck a six-year patent license deal as well as a “multiyear” wireless chipset supply deal.”
The current scenario of Apple-Qualcomm patent case
But recently it has come to notice that the battle is not over yet. Apple has requested for a hearing to potentially invalidate two Qualcomm patents that played key roles in 2017 attempts to ban Apple Watch, iPad and iPhone sales over allegedly infringing modem technology. But the supreme court has rejected the request. According to a report by The Verge, “The Supreme Court declined Apple’s bid (pdf) for a hearing over two Qualcomm patents (US Patent No. 7,844,037 and US Patent No. 8,683,362) that were part of lawsuits filed in 2017, claiming infringement by Apple’s iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.” Though these two tech giants’ dispute was settled, one of them is still in a thought of taking the matter to the court again. According to a report by Reuters, “The U.S. The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) bid to revive an effort to cancel two Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) smartphone patents despite the global settlement of the underlying dispute between the two tech giants.”
The settlement
The Apple-Qualcomm patent case will settle the companies’ main dispute have agreed a six-year licensing deal. So when Apple approached the Supreme court, the justice department had supporting files to opposing the request. But it is also true that the licensing deal is ending in 2025 or (if extended) 2027. So it is not clear what Apple will do after that.
