US trade judge declines to block iPhone imports

NEW YORK — A US trade judge on Friday declined to block the importation of Apple iPhones with chips from Intel Corp, handing a major defeat to Qualcomm in its high-stakes legal dispute with the iPhone maker.

A US International Trade Commission judge said Apple’s phones infringed one Qualcomm patent related to power management technology, but denied the chipmaker’s request for a ban on the import of some iPhones into the United States.

Thomas Pender, an administrative law judge at the ITC, said that

“public interest fac- tors” weighed against granting Qualcomm’s request for a ban.

The determination will be reviewed by other judges. Qualcomm, the world’s largest mobile phone chipmaker, has another pending patent case against Apple before the ITC. Apple said in a statement that Qualcomm had unfairly demanded royalties for technologies it had nothing to do with.

“We’re glad the ITC stopped Qualcomm’s attempt to damage competition and ultimately harm innovators and US consumers,” Apple said.

In a statement, Qualcomm general counsel Don Rosenberg said the company was pleased the judge did find patent infringement, but “it makes no sense to then allow infringement to continue by denying an import ban. “That goes against the ITC mandate to protect American innovators by blocking the import of infringing products,” Rosenberg said. “There are many ways Apple could stop infringing our technology without affecting the public interest.”

Apple and Qualcomm are locked in a wide-ranging legal dispute in which Apple has accused Qualcomm of unfair patent licensing practices. Qualcomm has in turn accused Apple of patent infringement. —

There are many ways Apple could stop infringing our technology without affecting the public interest

Don Rosenberg, General counsel, Qualcomm