Apple and Qualcomm are “on the doorstep of finding a resolution,” in their ongoing legal battle over patents and royalties.
“We do talk as companies. We've always talked about — I've been very consistent — that...the second half of this year and into next year is when we're really on the doorstep of finding a resolution and we don't see anything different than that," Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf told CNBC's Jim Cramer in an interview.
Mollenkopf further pointed that Qualcomm would "love to work with Apple," particularly on a future 5G-equipped iPhone. The Cupertino-based iPhone maker started using Intel baseband chips for its devices in 2018 and also used Intel chips in some models of 2016’s iPhone 7. The current line-up including iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR — has no Qualcomm modems at all.
Apple first filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Qualcomm in January 2017, claiming that the chip maker was withholding money as retaliation for cooperation with antitrust investigations. The battle quickly escalated, resulting in suits and countersuits around the world. In September, Qualcomm accused Apple that it has stolen its wireless technology and given it to Intel to enhance modem speeds.
Qualcomm also claimed to have good evidence to support the allegation. The company claims to have documents showing that Apple and Intel engineers shared Qualcomm’s source code and other tools.
In May of 2017, Qualcomm asked a US court to force Apple to pay up royalties for phone patents owned by Qualcomm. Qualcomm had asked for a preliminary injunction against four of Apple's suppliers -- Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron, and Compal.
According to Qualcomm, Apple directed these companies to not to pay royalties for devices manufactured using technology by Qualcomm.
