Top US court declines Apple’s hearing bid over 2 Qualcomm patents

San Francisco: The Supreme Court in the US has declined Apple’s bid for a hearing over two patents by chip-maker Qualcomm that alleged infringement of its technologies by the iPhone maker.

Qualcomm and Apple in 2019 announced an agreement to dismiss all ongoing litigations, including with Apple’s contract manufacturers, between the two companies worldwide.

The companies reached a global patent license agreement and a chipset supply agreement.

However, a case in front of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board continued and Apple argued the two patents should be invalid, but the board had ruled in Qualcomm’s favour, reports The Verge.

Last year, the Federal Circuit court rejected Apple’s request for an appeal based on the 2019 settlement as the tech giant argued that its “royalty payments and risk of being sued again were reasons for a hearing”.

Now, the US Supreme Court has also declined Apple’s bid for a hearing over the two patents that claimed infringement by Apple’s iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.

The Apple-Qualcomm agreement in 2019 was reached after chip-maker Intel decided to exit the 5G smartphone modem business and complete an assessment of the opportunities for 4G and 5G modems in PCs, Internet of Things devices and other data-centric devices.

Apple and Qualcomm have fought over patent licensing practices since 2017.

Apple wanted to pay a lower amount for using Qualcomm technology in its devices. Qualcomm responded by suing Apple for patent infringement and seeking a ban on sales.