Qualcomm issued a statement on Monday saying that a Chinese court has agreed to the company’s request to “ban some iPhones in China.” Qualcomm applied to the court for an iPhone ban at the end of last year. The Fuzhou Intermediate People’s Court has issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting Apple from importing and selling almost all models of the iPhone in the Chinese market. It is understood that the affected models include iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X.
It is worth mentioning that Apple’s latest iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR are not in the ban. Although Apple abandoned Qualcomm’s modem in the latest iPhone and switched to Intel’s products, this does not seem to be the determining factor. The Fuzhou Intermediate People’s Court held that Apple infringed Qualcomm’s two software patents, mainly related to adjusting the photo size and management applications on the touchscreen. Subsequently, Apple issued a statement on the iPhone ban. The company said that Chinese consumers can still buy all models of iPhones. Apple believes that Qualcomm’s application for the iPhone ban is a desperate move, and its illegal behavior is being investigated by global regulators.
Qualcomm has repeatedly publicly expressed its intention to resolve patent disputes with Apple privately, but according to previous reports, Apple does not seem to have a plan to reconcile with Qualcomm. Last month, Reuters quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying that Apple did not negotiate a legal dispute with Qualcomm at any level. After the release of the iPhone ban, the possibility of reconciliation between the two companies seems to be even smaller.
