Qualcomm loses bid for iPhone import ban against Apple

Qualcomm lost a bid on Tuesday to ban imports of several iPhone models into the US after the International Trade Commission ruled in favour of Apple.

The court claimed Apple had not violated a Qualcomm modem chip patent, which it deemed invalid, and so no ban was required.

The ruling overturned an initial claim from the ITC judge that Apple likely had infringed one of three patents in question but that a ban was not in the public interest.

Apple issued a statement on the second ITC ruling to Bloomberg: "We're pleased the ITC has found Qualcomm's latest patent claims invalid. It's another important step to making sure American companies are able to compete fairly in the marketplace.

“Qualcomm is using these cases to distract from having to answer for the real issues, their monopolistic business practices. They are being investigated by governments around the world for their behavior, and we look forward to detailing the many ways they're harming consumers and stifling innovation when we present our case in San Diego next month."

The ban could have given Qualcomm significant power over Apple, at a time when the company is experience decreasing iPhone sales.

Apple has long complained about the chipmaker abusing its power in wireless modems and demanded excessively high royalties. Qualcomm in turn accused Apple back in 2017 of stealing intellectual property and giving it out to third parties.

Both companies have been in a long-running dispute since then.