By posting bonds of over $1.5 billion required by a German court in a December 20 ruling, the semiconductor giant forced Apple to halt local sales of a number of older iPhones found to be in infringement of some of Qualcomm’s patents relating to the handsets’ power-saving technology.
It seems there was nothing to do to evade the embargo around those parts, which likely covers sales in physical retail locations as well. But even though Qualcomm expects third-party German sellers to follow Apple’s suit, that hasn’t happened yet.
At the time of this writing, the four iPhone models in question are still available through the local arm of Amazon, not to mention key Apple partners like Gravis are specifically promoting the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 lineups on their homepages.
While it remains to be seen whether or not Qualcomm’s interpretation of last month’s court verdict will eventually be shared by other iPhone 7 and 8 sellers, Apple is naturally in the process of appealing the ban, which many experts expect to end successfully. If that happens, Qualcomm’s $1.52 billion bond will be used to cover Apple’s losses during this period of prohibited sales. Basically, the war is only getting started.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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