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Qualcomm enforces ban to halt some Apple iPhone sales in Germany

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NEW YORK: US chipmaker Qualcomm Inc took steps to enforce a court order banning the sale of some iPhone models in Germany, a move that will likely see Apple Inc pull those models from its German stores.


A spokesman for Gravis, Germany’s biggest reseller of Apple products which is owned by telecoms company Freenet, on Friday said it still had all Apple products on sale, including the iPhone 7 and 8 models.


Qualcomm a day earlier posted bonds of 1.34 billion euros ($1.5 billion) as part of a legal requirement by a German court, which found on December 20 that Apple had infringed Qualcomm patents on power-saving technology used in smartphones.


Apple had earlier said it would pull iPhone 7 and 8 models from its 15 retail stores in Germany when the order came into force. That order took effect when Qualcomm posted the bonds.


Apple declined to comment on Qualcomm’s most recent move on Thursday.


The German case is Qualcomm’s third major effort to secure a ban on Apple’s lucrative iPhones over patent infringement allegations after similar moves in the United States and China, and is part of a global patent spat between the two companies.


According to the court order, Apple has to stop the sale, offer for sale and importation for sale of all infringing iPhones in Germany. Apple had said it was appealing the decision.


The court also ordered Apple to recall the affected iPhones from third-party resellers in Germany, according to a statement by Qualcomm.


In its previous statement on the decision, the leading mobile phone manufacturer Apple had said it would continue to offer all of its phones at thousands of retail and carrier locations across Germany, a direct contradiction to Qualcomm’s interpretation of the order.


The Munich regional court was not immediately available for comment.


Kai Ruting, a German lawyer not involved in the case, said the court order was directed at Apple entities rather than third parties.


“These third parties are still free to sell the (affected) iPhones, and they sell the majority of iPhones,” Ruting said, adding, “the question of a settlement will be driven by the US litigation and not the German case.” — Reuters



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