Apple facing possible ban on some US iPhone imports over patent battle with Qualcomm

Members of the US International Trade Commission have told a district judge they believe Apple has infringed the patent of rival Qualcomm, in a move that could lead to some US iPhones being blocked.

The telecoms giants are battling it out after Qualcomm asked the commission, which acts as a third party in such cases, to ban the import of iPhones that contained Intel modem chips, a rival to that used by Qualcomm.

Apple has said any move to ban iPhones with Intel chips would give Qualcomm a monopoly on modems and stifle competition. It has also said its patents are invalid.

Apple said: “Qualcomm is selectively asserting its patents to target only Apple products containing Intel chipsets — even though its patent infringement allegations would apply equally to Apple products containing Qualcomm chipsets — in an attempt to use the ITC as another mechanism for perpetuating its ill-gotten monopoly position.”

A decision is expected in January.

Qualcomm is not the only company to be in court with Apple. Apple is also engaged in a long-running feud with Samsung over patents.

The legal battle has been raging for seven years now, after Apple first sued Samsung for copying its iPhone designs in 2011.

Read more: Apple and Samsung back in court over seven-year patent feud