Tim Cook will offer testimony as part of Apple’s legal battle with Qualcomm. Cook will discuss Apple’s business practices, strategy, agreements with cellular network carriers, and more.
He’s not the only senior Apple executive ready to talk, either. Former hardware boss Bob Mansfield, current COO Jeff Williams, SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller and others will chime in as part of the case.
In addition, executives from suppliers such as Foxconn could serve as witnesses as part of the trial. Despite this being predominantly an Apple vs. Qualcomm clash, suppliers were also dragged into proceedings along the way.
On Qualcomm’s side of the witness box, testimony could come from co-founder and former chairman Irwin Jacobs, current CEO Steven Mollenkopf, and president Cristiano Amon.
Apple vs. Qualcomm
The hearing will kick off on April 15. It follows a period of two years during which the two have waged legal war against each other. Things started when Apple sued Qualcomm, alleging that it was owed $1 billion in rebates. Qualcomm had reportedly not paid this because Apple assisted South Korean regulators investigating Qualcomm’s business.
Since then, things have spiraled into multiple legal battles in various countries. In March, a judge ruled that Qualcomm owes Apple close to $1 billion in patent royalty rebate payments. However, other decisions have gone in favor of Qualcomm.
The April court case could turn out to be the definitive saga of this chapter. This case focuses on Apple’s suggestion that Qualcomm owes it a massive $7 billion in royalties. Qualcomm also claims that Apple has stolen its proprietary trade secrets and passed them on to Intel.
Some industry pundits have suggested that the two companies will eventually put their differences aside to work together on 5G. Qualcomm is an industry leader in the field.
Source: Bloomberg
Via: Apple Insider
