Apple has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm in Beijing, and it is accusing the latter of abusing its dominant position in the chip industry and asking for compensation of CNY1 billion for economic losses.
At the same time, Apple raised another lawsuit against Qualcomm, stating that Qualcomm failed to keep its promise of ensuring to provide necessary patent licenses extensively and at affordable prices.
Commenting on the news, Qualcomm said via an email to local Chinese media that they have not yet seen the complete case raised by Apple to the court in China. However, Don Rosenberg, Qualcomm's executive vice president and general counsel, reportedly said since they were commanded by the Chinese regulatory authorities in 2015, the company has been providing the same terms to Apple as those provided to other customers. Rosenberg said that Qualcomm will defend their business model in the Chinese court.
Prior to this, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission raised a lawsuit against Qualcomm on January 17, 2017, stating that Qualcomm was maintaining its monopoly position in the smartphone chip market by using methods that violated principles of fair competition.
Apple has also sued Qualcomm in the U.S., asking for compensation of USD1 billion.
Qualcomm is facing legal challenges around the world. In December 2016, South Korean regulators fined Qualcomm USD854 million for violating antitrust laws, a decision Qualcomm is fighting. In February 2015, Qualcomm was fined USD975 million by Chinese regulators for abusing its control over technology to charge excessive fees.