Qualcomm seeks enforcement of iPhone sales ban in China
Qualcomm has applied to a Chinese court to force Apple to stop selling seven models of the iPhone in China. An industry analyst familiar with the two companies’ patent feud said that Qualcomm may further step up the patent fight by seeking an iPhone import ban.
Qualcomm’s position is particularly strong this time. Based on their long lawsuit history, the two companies would settle out of court eventually, but this time it may be necessary to see a new round of court hearings and other developments, the analyst said.
Qualcomm seems to expect to ban Apple’s related products in China much faster.
The company confirmed in a message sent to the Global Times on Thursday that it had applied to a Chinese court to enforce the injunction that was granted on Monday.
The company also persuaded the US International Trade Commission to consider banning imports of Apple Inc iPhones that use Intel Corp chips, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
Similar measures from Qualcomm may be seen in China too, Jia Mo, an analyst at Canalys, a global technology market analysis firm, told the Global Times on Thursday.
“Qualcomm may try to block shipments by banning imports, rather than just banning sales in China,” Jia said.
Apple is apparently unwilling to stop selling its most popular models in China.
A salesperson in Apple’s Sanlitun store in Beijing told the Global Times on Thursday that the store had received no notice to take the relevant iPhones off the shelf.
“The only reason I would recommend that consumers purchase the iPhone XR and XS models, which use Apple’s own chips, is price. In particular, the XR is just several hundred yuan more expensive than last year’s model.
“Consumers should not be worried about aftersales service no matter which model they buy,” she said.
Apple responded that Chinese consumers can buy all iPhone models, and it will seek legal approaches to solve the issue.
Qualcomm’s lawyer said three Apple subsidiaries rejected the court’s ruling notice, the yicai.com reported on Thursday.
Although the sales ban on Apple’s products in China is not directly related to China-US trade friction.
Also, the recent Huawei incident concerning the detention of its senior executive by Canadian authorities did not lead to Apple’s ban, analysts said this is seen as China’s way to show strength.