US International Trade Commission probing Qualcomm iPhone complaint

San Francisco, US - The US International Trade Commission (ITC) on Tuesday said it will look into Qualcomm’s complaint that Apple is violating its patents in some iPhones.

The step, arguably procedural, means that the commission will assign Qualcomm’s complaint to an administrative law judge for evidentiary hearings instead of dismissing it out of hand.

Qualcomm last month escalated a legal battle with Apple, filing a patent infringement lawsuit and requesting a ban on the importation of some iPhones, claiming unlawful and unfair use of the chipmaker’s technology.

Qualcomm asked for an import ban on some iPhones with the US International Trade Commission, a quasi-judicial government agency.

“Qualcomm is pleased with the ITC’s decision to investigate Apple’s unfair trade practices and the unauthorised importation of products using Qualcomm’s patents,” executive vice president and general counsel Don Rosenberg said in a release.

The products at issue in the investigation are mobile devices such as the iPhone 7 and specific components including baseband processor modems, according to the commission. The complaint alleges that iPhones, which are made in China, should not be allowed to be brought into the United States if they infringe on Qualcomm’s patents.