Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) has been embroiled in a bitter dispute with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) for years. A new court filing sees the Qualcomm versus Apple fight continue, and in fact, hit a new level of misdeed.
So what’s going on?
Qualcomm Versus Apple
The charges made against Apple accuse the technology giant of stealing “vast swaths” of confidential data and trade secrets. Qualcomm claims that Apple gave these to its rival, Intel, to help it improve the performance quality of its chips.
On the news, Apple stock is in the green today, yet Qualcomm is in the red. (Interesting.)
The pair is already entangled in an existing lawsuit, whereby Apple is accused of breaching the master software agreement that they signed in 2011.
In this lawsuit, Qualcomm is demanding royalties from Apple suppliers for the iPhone, but Apple, unwilling to pay, deems the ask excessive.
The Latest Charges
The most recent filing is putting extra pressure on Apple to settle that dispute. However, Qualcomm maintains that the charges are for a far greater injustice and the new lawsuit would stand alone in court.
The accusation is that Apple is giving away “unlawful use of Qualcomm’s valuable trade secrets” and it is doing this to help Intel better its technology, which “irreparably harms” Qualcomm.
According to Qualcomm, Apple violated an agreement that required it to let Qualcomm ensure the source code software and tools it was sharing with Apple were being protected.
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Provided to Intel Engineers
However, not only did Apple stop Qualcomm from checking the use of its source code, the company is accused of stealing that same source code, and sharing it with Intel to help it overcome engineering issues in its chips.
Intel had previously made chips for iPhone phones, but these were performing poorly. Up until October 2017, iPhone was using chips supplied by Qualcomm, but it culled these chips too, citing financial reasons.
Qualcomm Evidence?
Qualcomm is backing up its lawsuit, not with direct evidence, but with communication back and forths between Apple and Intel engineers, which it is said to have unearthed. Sources say the evidence includes email correspondence, Apple’s source code development history, and the code used in Intel-based phones.
The Qualcomm versus Apple dispute continues.
Featured Image: Pixabay
