Gerry Palmers Tech 06.27.2022 21:Jun PM EDT

Supreme Court Denies Apple’s Bid for a Hearing Over Qualcomm Patents

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a bid by Apple to relaunch hearings with the intention to cancel two Qualcomm patents despite a settlement on the issue between the two tech giants.

The High Court rejected Apple's appeal of a lower court decision that the Cupertino, California-based company lacked standing to revive the matter due to the settlement. Apple pushed that it should be allowed to resurrect its legal action because Qualcomm could also haul them back to court again once the settlement ends.

Qualcomm sued Apple in 2017 in San Diego federal court, claiming that Apple's iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches infringed two Qualcomm mobile-technology patents (US Patent No. 7,844,037 and US Patent No. 8,683,362). That case was one element of a broader court dispute between the companies, The Verge reported.

Apple questioned the validity of the two patents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Basis of Supreme Court Decision: 2019 Apple-Qualcomm Settlement

The parties reached a settlement in 2019, signing an agreement worth billions of dollars that allowed Apple to still use Qualcomm chips in iPhones. The settlement also provided Apple a six-year license to tens of thousands of Qualcomm patents, including the two being dispute, as the patent board case remained.

The U.S. patent board favored Qualcomm in its ruling. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which specializes in patent law, threw out Apple's appeal in 2021 citing the 2019 settlement. The Federal Circuit rejected Apple's assertion that its royalty payments and risk of being sued again justified hearing the case based on merits.

Apple Sought Appeal Over Fears of Future Qualcomm Patent Litigation When Settlement Ends

Before the Supreme Court, Apple said that the company continued to face the risk of litigation after the agreement ends in 2025, or in 2027 if the settlement term is extended.

For its part, Qualcomm told the Supreme Court to reject the appeal, arguing Apple had not shown any evidence to support its claims.

The chipmaker found an ally in President Joe Biden's administration, which also urged the High Court to reject Apple's appeal.

Apple had since discontinued using Qualcomm chipsets and had since moved on, utilizing its own M series of chipsets, which has now ruled the market for powerful chipsets.

The original M1 was a powerhouse of a chip when Apple introduced in MacBooks and iPads and the latest M2 is also as superb. Because of this, Apple is considered the market leader in mobile chips. In response, Qualcomm is also developing next-generation chip powerhouse for laptops.

Qualcomm is best known for making chips for high-end as well as affordable smartphones. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is one of the best chips that you can find and is powering most of the flagship smartphones.

As part of its acquisition of powerful chipset maker Nuvia, Qualcomm will soon release chipsets to take on Apple's M series, seeking to reclaim the mobile chipset leadership.