A trial date has been announced for the long-brewing Qualcomm vs. Apple lawsuit. According to a new report, it will take place on April 15, 2019.
While Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf recently suggested that the two companies are “on the doorstep of a resolution,” Apple’s attorney insists that this is not the case. “There have been unfortunate articles lately that the parties are close to a settlement, and that is not true,” attorney William Isaacson said. “There haven’t been talks in months.”
Qualcomm was apparently hoping for a February trial. However, presiding Judge Curiel supposedly pushed it back to April in order to, “accommodate the court’s schedule.”
Apple vs. Qualcomm
The dispute between Apple and Qualcomm started in January 2017, when Apple sued Qualcomm for allegedly withholding $1 billion in rebates because Apple assisted South Korean regulators investigating Qualcomm’s business.
Things have only gotten worse — and more complex — since then. This court 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.
“Unlawful use of Qualcomm’s valuable trade secrets to try to help a competitor catch up irreparably harms us and must not be allowed to continue, Qualcomm’s general counsel, Donald Rosenberg, argued in a filing made back in September.
Provided that no resolution is reached between now and April, it will be interesting to see what happens in court. However, as the long-running (and now thankfully concluded) Samsung vs. Apple trial demonstrated, it may be quite some time before a final actionable verdict is reached.
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
