Following Qualcomm’s posting of security bonds to stop iPhone sales in Germany, Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models are no longer on sale in the tech giant’s retail stores in the country. However, German Apple retailer Gravis says it’s still selling both models at its stores.
This follows an injunction issued by a Munich court in December related to patent disputes between the two companies. The court ordered Apple to cease the sale, offer for sale and importation for sale in Germany of infringing iPhones.
This is the latest chapter in the ongoing battle. In January 2017 Apple sued Qualcomm, alleging the chip supplier demanded unfair terms for its technology (which the company, of course, denied). Around the same time, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in a federal district court charging the supplier of baseband processors with using anticompetitive tactics to maintain its monopoly in the supply of a key semiconductor device used in cell phones and other consumer products.
Qualcomm claims it went out of its way to offer alternative licensing (which Apple rejected), and that, in suing Qualcomm, Apple is motivated by reducing the cost to make iPhones.
