Apple’s dispute with the chip group Qualcomm is a setback in the United States threatens the entrenched patent. A judge of the U.S. trade authority, the ITC came to the conclusion that some models of Apple’s iPhone of infringing a Qualcomm Patent.

you will recommend import restrictions, wrote the judge in their on Tuesday published decision. About your proposal, but must vote the entire six-member Commission, in addition, an ITC import ban from the US President can be invalidated.

The judge’s decision, not the individual iPhone models. It comes to devices with Chips of Qualcomm rival Intel.

a Few hours later was in a second process between the two companies, the Commission follows such recommendations.

While the ITC judge found in October, also in the case of a patent violation by Apple, the Commission said that Qualcomm’s Patent is now invalid and the procedure. Apple had to make, however, in the case, no big Worry: the judge had spoken out in the autumn against a ban on the import, among other things, with regard to the competitive situation.

The ITC can. in the case of patent infringement the importation of devices into the U.S., say Since electronics are largely manufactured in Asia, can mean for a company with massive problems. At the same time, there were also cases in which the U.S. President an ITC-conceding decision-making. So had inserted, for example, Barack Obama in 2013 vetoed an import ban on some iPhone and iPad models, Samsung had achieved in the then-fierce patent dispute with Apple.

The current dispute began when Apple, Qualcomm 2017 sued with the accusation, the chip group demand to be high fees for the use of its patents. Qualcomm accuses Apple, in turn, in several countries, the violation of various patents. The iPhone group explained that patent infringement lawsuits were just a maneuver to pressure on the business model of Qualcomm distract. The US Competition authority, the FTC alleges that Qualcomm, for its part, the unfair competition, because the group chip deals have linked to basic license agreements for its patents. Qualcomm rejects the accusations.

In Germany, Qualcomm has achieved a sales ban of several older models of iPhone Chips from competitor Intel. Apple stopped temporarily its sale, brought it back again but with Chips of Qualcomm in the trade.

dpa