US chipmaker Qualcomm Inc on Thursday said that it has fulfilled the requirements set out by a court in a patent dispute case against Apple Inc to ban the sale of older iPhone models in Germany.
The court in the German city of Munich ruled in favor of Qualcomm last month, but said that an injunction banning sales of affected iPhones could only be imposed immediately if the company put down a security deposit.
“[Qualcomm] has posted security bonds totaling 1.34 billion euros [US$1.53 billion]. The bonds are required for Qualcomm to be able to enforce the remedies ordered by the Court on December 20, 2018,” it said on Thursday.
The court set the large sum, as it could be the amount awarded to Apple in terms of revenue losses if the iPhone maker manages to get the Munich ruling overturned by a higher court.
A court spokeswoman said that she could not confirm the payment, as the case is no longer in the tribunal’s remit.
An Apple spokesman told reporters that it had been “disappointed” by the Munich ruling and would appeal.
“All iPhone models remain available to customers through carriers and resellers in 4,300 locations across Germany,” he said. “During the appeal process, iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models will not be available at Apple’s 15 retail stores in Germany.”
However, Qualcomm said in a statement that the court had “ordered Apple to recall infringing iPhones from third party resellers in Germany.”
The two Californian tech giants have been locked in a long-running battle over patents and royalties that has played out in courts and administrative bodies worldwide.
At the heart of the dispute in the German case are chips made by one of Apple’s suppliers used in iPhones, with both parties at loggerheads on how the chips actually work, the court said.
Among the functions of the chip is the conservation of battery power.
The Munich court said it had to trust Qualcomm’s explanation of how the chip worked, as Apple would not give details on its functioning, citing the industrial secrecy interests of its supplier.
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