It’s over: a bitter legal clash between Apple and chipmaker Qualcomm being fought in across a dizzying array of legal jurisdictions has ended, after the two settled out of court and agreed a landmark six-year chipset supply, licencing and royalties deal.
Apple has paid an undisclosed figure to Qualcomm as part of the deal.
“All worldwide litigation will be dismissed and withdrawn” the two said in a joint statement. The agreement also ends all litigation with Apple’s manufacturers.
Qualcomm’s shares soared over 20 percent on the announcement. The company had slipped to a net loss in 2018 on the back of hefty legal bills and reduced supply, with Q1 2019 revenues falling 20 percent year-on-year.
The agreement comes a day after Apple filed a fresh $30 billion lawsuit against Qualcomm; that is also dismissed.
See also: Qualcomm’s 20 Bad “Apples”: Litigation Weighs on Chip Giant
The plethora of cases around the world largely involved Apple accusing Qualcomm – which generates the vast majority of its revenues by licensing its IP; the company has over 45,000 patents granted – of monopolistic practices to regulators, and Qualcomm accusing Apple of infringing on its IP and failing to pay fairly for its goods.
The settlement opens the doors for Apple to use Qualcomm’s 5G silicon in forthcoming iPhones. Citing unnamed sources, Japan’s Nikkei reports that Apple and Qualcomm were working toward a settlement for weeks, during which time Apple was testing Qualcomm’s 5G modem for use in upcoming iPhones.
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In addition to what appears to be internal testings, the tech giant also requested partner manufacturers to test the chip, the Nikkei report claims.
The legal clash had restricted Apple’s options for the latest silicon to Intel, whose XMM 8160 5G modem is rumored to be facing delays. The chip, which has been promised for the second half of 2019, will support peak speeds up to 6 gigabits per second.
