SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - San Diego-based Qualcomm won a $31 million decision Friday against Apple in a patent infringement case involving iPhones.
A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California found the iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, and X infringed Qualcomm’s patents.
One of the patents enables "flashless booting”, eliminating the need for separate flash memory. It also allows a smartphone to connect to the internet quickly after being powered on, according to Qualcomm officials.
The other two patents allow smartphone apps to access internet data quickly, and enable high performance and graphics while increasing battery life, Qualcomm said in a news release.
Qualcomm was awarded $31 million in damages from July 6, 2017, the date the lawsuit was filed, through the end of the trial.
"Today's unanimous jury verdict is the latest victory in our worldwide patent litigation directed at holding Apple accountable for using our valuable technologies without paying for them," said Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel for Qualcomm. "The technologies invented by Qualcomm and others are what made it possible for Apple to enter the market and become so successful so quickly. The three patents found to be infringed in this case represent just a small fraction of Qualcomm's valuable portfolio of tens of thousands of patents. We are gratified that courts all over the world are rejecting Apple's strategy of refusing to pay for the use of our IP."
Courts in Germany and China also ruled in favor of Qualcomm in similar legal disputes in the past six months.
