Processor manufacturer Qualcomm just managed to notch another legal victory on its belt, in its prolonged battle against Apple.
The two have been going back and forth over a number of patent lawsuits for years, with victories constantly slipping to the other side.
In this latest win, a US federal court in San Diego found Apple guilty of infringing three of Qualcomm's patents, relating to power optimisation and boot-up times for iPhones sold between mid-2017 to late 2018.
As part of the lawsuit, Qualcomm had asked the court for it to be paid $1.41 in royalties damages for every iPhone sold during the period that broke its patent. All told, the court says Apple now owes Qualcomm $31 million in royalties.
It's just the latest leg in a legal war between the chipmaker and the iPhone creator, with lawsuits filed in the US, Europe, China, and more. It all began because Apple started saying that Qualcomm's licensing fees were too expensive and exploitative. When they refused to pay, Qualcomm hit back by seeking to get that money through the courts, and banning the sales of offending iPhones as well.
The phone models that come under this latest ruling include the iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X. More importantly though, Reuters suggest this small win could play a major role in the entire legal battle between the two companies. After all, if Apple is being directed to pay a certain amount for violating Qualcomm's patents, it puts a real-world value on the chipmaker's product, thereby reinforcing its own case that its licensing fees are justified and reasonable.
It's still unclear what Apple plans to do in the wake of this ruling. It's probably not going to be adhering to the ruling though, if past experience is anything. The iPhone won't have 5G until 2020 because the current processors with the capability exist thanks to Qualcomm research, so clearly Apple is not the appeasing kind. That means they're going to try to countersue somehow, or draw this battle out.
In any case, we haven't seen the last of this mess just yet.