Apple today further expanded its ongoing legal battle against Qualcomm. According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple has now sued Qualcomm in a U.K. court over the same patent and royalty dispute that prompted lawsuits in other countries, including the United States.
The report notes that the lawsuit was filed today and cites a claim on patents and registered designs. At this point, however, there aren’t any specific details as to how broad Apple’s lawsuit against Qualcomm is in the U.K.
Apple first sued Qualcomm for $1 billion in the United States last month. Apple’s suit against the company came following an FTC complaint alleging that Qualcomm engaged in monopolistic practices to prevent Apple from sourcing key components from competitors. When asked for comment, Apple cited the same statement it released at the beginning of the battle back in January:
The main point of Apple’s argument is that Qualcomm has been charging royalties for “technologies they have nothing to do with. Apple has also alleged that Qualcomm withheld a $1 billion rebate from Apple in retaliation for it working with South Korean authorities. Qualcomm was recently found to be engaging in anti-competitive behavior in South Korea. Tim Cook put it like this:
“Despite being just one of over a dozen companies who contributed to basic cellular standards, Qualcomm insists on charging Apple at least five times more in payments than all the other cellular patent licensors we have agreements with combined.”
Likewise, Apple is suing Qualcomm in China over the same patent and royalty disputes. That suit is worth 1 billion yuan, or around $140 million. As part of that claim, Apple claimed that Qualcomm is in violation of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law.
Tim Cook referred to Apple’s legal battle with Qualcomm during the company’s recent earnings call, explaining that he sees litigation as a last resort and is therefore open to settling the lawsuit. In the end, though, Cook expects it to be a lengthy battle.
