QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) shares
briefly spiked in Thursday after-hours trading on news that the firm filed patent infringement complaints against Apple
Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) with the U.S. International
Trade Commission.
Qualcomm alleged that Apple had illegally imported and sold iPhones violating at least one of six Qualcomm technology
patents.
"Qualcomm's inventions are at the heart of every iPhone and extend well beyond modem technologies or cellular standards," Don
Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm, said in a press
release. "The patents we are asserting represent six important technologies, out of a portfolio of thousands, and each is vital
to iPhone functions. Apple continues to use Qualcomm's technology while refusing to pay for it."
The supplier urges the imposition of a Limited Exclusion Order to ban future imports of the offending products and a Cease and
Desist Order to prohibit continued sales of already imported phones.
Qualcomm anticipates an ITC investigation to launch in August.
In addition to the ITC complaint, Qualcomm filed another with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
demanding damages and injunctive relief.
Apple and Qualcomm have been quarreling
for years over licensing dispute, and the battle escalated in April when Apple announced it would withhold royalty payments pending
settlement.
Apple shares were little changed in the after-hours session, closing at $142.73
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