Qualcomm has responded to Apple’s lawsuits in two different press releases today, noting that Qualcomm will defend itself against all charges made by Apple and anywhere in the world. The first of the comments today came directly from Qualcomm’s CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, during the company’s fiscal first quarter results announcement. During that announcement, Mollenkopf noted that both the “legal and governmental actions against Qualcomm” are simple a result of “commercial disputes”. Further adding that Qualcomm will “vigorously defend” their business actions and practices, as they have done so in the past.
The second public statement from Qualcomm today came from Qualcomm’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Don Rosenberg, and was in direct response to the absolute most recent charges being brought against Qualcomm by Apple in China. In the statement, Rosenberg explains that Apple’s claims against Qualcomm are simple “part of Apple’s efforts to find ways to pay less for Qualcomm’s technology”. While further adding that Qualcomm has never sought to overcharge Apple in China and instead it was Apple who “refused” to consider terms offered by Qualcomm. Terms which Rosenberg state were the same terms that had been “accepted by more than one hundred other Chinese companies”. In a similar tone to Mollenkopf’s earlier comments, Rosenberg also echoed that Qualcomm will defend its business practices and model, “anywhere in the world”.
In total now during the last week, Apple has filed lawsuits against Qualcomm in both the US and in China. The first US suit focused on monies that Apple state Qualcomm purposefully held back from Apple, along with unfair fees being levied on the use of their patents which Apple argue are not as significant as Qualcomm’s expectation of payment would suggest. The most recent China lawsuit on the other hand is seeking damages in relation to a reasonable determination of Qualcomm’s ‘standard essential patents’. Which was in addition to a separate lawsuit filed by Apple in China which accuses Qualcomm of violating China’s monopoly laws. All of which have come quickly on the heels of the US. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announcing that they were filing charges against Qualcomm for anti-competitive tactics.