Apple Seeks Discovery with Qualcomm over Ericsson Licenses
Yesterday we discovered that Apple had applied to the court for an ex parte order granting them leave to obtain targeted discovery from Qualcomm for use in foreign litigation in context with the Nokia patent infringement cases against Apple now in progress.
The two key points made in the request before the court are as follows: "In support of its defenses to the actions filed by Ericsson against Apple in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands, Apple seeks narrowly tailored discovery from its supplier of certain wireless communication chips, namely Qualcomm. Specifically, Apple seeks documents regarding whether Qualcomm had or has a license or is or was otherwise authorized to practice some or all of the patents that have been asserted by Ericsson against Apple.
In the Foreign Proceedings, Ericsson asserts patents that Ericsson claims to be essential to the Long Term Evolution ("LTE") and/or Global System for Mobile Communications ("GSM") cellular standards established by ETSI. The functionalities accused by Ericsson in these actions generally relate to the chips supplied by Qualcomm for incorporation into various iPhone and iPad models. "
Basically, if I'm reading this correctly, Apple must have taken on face value that when ordering chips from Qualcomm for the iPhone, that Qualcomm had the relevant licenses for LTE and GSM standards and now seeks to prove that. In order to defend themselves against Ericsson's lawsuits Apple has to make sure that there are no surprises in respect to the relevant licenses of chips that are used in their iPhones.
Although it may be a side issue with absolutely no relevance to the discovery Apple is seeking with Qualcomm, the timing of a rumor this week that Intel may gain 50% of Apple's future iPhone business away from Qualcomm with its XMM 7360 Modem for Next Wave of LTE Advanced Devices was interesting if not convenient.
Gus Richard of Northern Capital Markets stated this week: "Intel's Modem Wins at Apple: Apple has been evaluating Intel's model for a while. We now believe that Intel will capture roughly 50% of Apple's modem business in the upcoming iPhones due to launch September 9th."
In March Intel announced that their XMM 7360 LTE advanced solution was compliant with Ericsson, Samsung and others. Was or is Apple sending an indirect message to Qualcomm to comply with the discovery or their modem business will go elsewhere? I don't know, but the timing of this latest EX PARTE request from Apple being in sync with this latest rumor is oddly convenient.
About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Comments are reviewed daily from 4am to 6pm PST and sporadically over the weekend.
Comments