Apple asked a California federal court on Wednesday to nix a $25,000-per-day fine, arguing that the sanctions imposed by a magistrate judge last month for delays in producing documents in the antitrust litigation against Qualcomm were unduly harsh.
The tech giant has been ordered to pay $25,000 each day it fails to produce evidence related to an FTC case against Qualcomm, per the orders of U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins. The fine started Dec. 16.
The suit accuses Qualcomm of forcing Apple to use its chips in exchange for lower licensing fees, which unfairly excludes competitors. The Cupertino, California-based company isn’t party to the FTC suit but has documents related to the case.
In January Apple filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm, the world’s dominant supplier of baseband processors, alleging the chip supplier demanded unfair terms for its technology. However, Qualcomm denies the allegations and says Apple wouldn’t have an iPhone business if it weren’t for fair licensing of the company’s essential tech.
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.
