Apple is at it again in the courtrooms not so long after settling a long stalemate with Samsung. Qualcomm is determined to see sales of iPhone X banned in the US after claims of striking similarities between webOS and the iPhone X’s gestures, a software that powered early smartphones made by Palm. The Chipmaker now alleges that Apple is infringing upon patents associated with webOS as Qualcomm owns several patents related to Palm and is now accusing Apple of copying its user interface.
Suits and Countersuits
It happens that the giant companies have a lot to fight about and this is a case of the best man taking the cup home. The same day Apple went to file for a countersuit against Qualcomm, alleging that the chipmaker illegally used Apple battery management technology in Snapdragon processors that went into rival phones, Qualcomm filed three new complaints relating to 16 additional patents against Apple, including asking for the iPhone X to be banned.
A disagreement over how much Apple should pay Qualcomm for technology licenses is at the heart of all this. Apple believes the fee should be based on a percentage of the Qualcomm modem that goes into the iPhone, while the chipmaker believes the percentage should be based on the value of the entire phone.
Apple believes the fee should be based on a percentage Qualcomm alleges that the new iPhone X, which offers users the ability to bring up different windows of apps with a swipe, copies the interface used by the Pre.
iPhone X has been hailed for the new gesture-based navigation system but it is clearly inspired by the former OS according to tech enthusiast. The mobile manufacturers intended X factor has instead attracted complains of a violation of user interactions.
Other Palm patents involve the ability to autofocus the camera by touching the screen, a simplified single power button and the ability to answer a phone call with a text message. Qualcomm has argued before that Apple uses more than just the modem and that a good number of iPhone aspects are helped by Qualcomm’s innovations and the fresh accusations prove that.