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Apple banned in China

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You can’t buy Apple iPhones in China anymore!

Well, actually… For now the court injuction is not in force yet, however, things may change in the future. Let’s start from the beginning.

Qualcomm dispute over patents

The open battle between Apple and Qualcomm over intellectual property covering wireless networks and devices has lasted for quite a while now, so you could think that things are going to get resolved soon. In fact, not so long ago both enterprises decided to break off negotiations and go to the court. For one of them it wasn’t the best idea. A Chinese court decided to preliminary ban import and sale of almost all models of iPhone’s which are available in China. What is interesting is the fact, that the case did not relate to the wireless networks what actually started this dispute, but the violation of two patents which the Qualcomm owns.

Apple is not going to give up

Apple has issued a statement, however, saying that “all iPhone models remain available for our customers in China.” Apparently, according to the filling, new models with iOS 12 have undergone changes which void Qualcomm’s complaint.

“Qualcomm’s effort to ban our products is another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the world,” Apple in a statement for CNBC

What is more, iOS 12 can run on all the devices named in the decision, so the impact of it is still unclear. If the court rule were to come in force it would be a huge step back for Apple, since China generates 1/5 of the company’s revenue.

 

The future

Even though it might look like Apple is in big trouble, the fact is that they have a solid background.

“Qualcomm is asserting three patents they had never raised before, including one which has already been invalidated. We will pursue all our legal options through the courts.”

This means that Apple is going to appeal to higher instances, for what they 10 days from the day of the preliminary ban. However, the future doesn’t look so bright for Qualcomm either. Apple stopped paying licensing fees and no longer uses its chips in the iPhone’s. That’s contributed to a string of annual revenue declines for the company.

Recently Apple CEO Tim Cook has stated that he has interest in settling the case, but he expects a lengthy legal battle.  Considering that the dispute is already two years old, we might not see the end of it in the upcoming months. As for now we can only sit back and watch how the things are going to get resolved.

 

Sources:

  1. Miller, C. (2017, February 01). Tim Cook says he’s open to settling Qualcomm lawsuit, but expects a lengthy legal battle. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://9to5mac.com/2017/01/31/tim-cook-discusses-qualcomm-suit/
  2. King, I., Decker, S., & Gurman, M. (2018, December 11). IPhone Ban in China May Push Apple, Qualcomm Toward Settlement. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-10/iphone-ban-in-china-may-push-apple-qualcomm-toward-settlement?srnd=technology-vp
  3. Górecki, D. (2018, December 11). Chiński sąd orzekł na korzyść Qualcomm i zakazał sprzedaży iPhone`ów. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://ithardware.pl/aktualnosci/chinski_sad_orzekl_na_korzysc_qualcomm_i_zakazal_sprzedazy_iphone_ow-8019.html?fbclid=IwAR3SH51IsKJoIq3l_kYpGyJ0V5sEXp2U9AdrrGvrm2lG2ygdKMFqdDLoKGo

 

 

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