The International Trade Commission on Tuesday reached two different decisions in the battle for patent infringement between Apple and Qualcomm: one for Qualcomm and the other for Apple.
In one case, the judge said that iPhone phones had violated a Qualcomm patent and should be banned. But a full review of the panel in another separate case, said Apple had not violated Qualcomm's patents and dismissed the case. She also found that Qualcomm's patents were invalid.
In the first case, Judge Mary Joan McNamara, an administrative law judge, said in a preliminary ruling that Apple had violated one of Qualcomm's patents for power management in computing devices that improves processor performance and reduces power consumption.
Qualcomm accuses Apple's A10, A11 and A12 processors, which are used in iPhone phones from iPhone 7 to iPhone XS, to violate its technology.
Because of this patent infringement, McNamara wrote that she plans to recommend that iPhone phones be banned in the United States and found that Apple has not infringed other Qualcomm patents, and said some of the Qualcomm patent claims are incorrect.
The verdict is not final and will later go to a panel of judges who will make a decision by July 26, and then the decision will be examined by US President Donald Trump.
Of course, Qualcomm welcomed the judge's decision. "We appreciate Judge McNamara's recognition of Apple's violation of our patents, and she would recommend a ban on import and demand suspension" on Apple's phones, she said. The second part of the resolution on the invalidity of some of its patents was ignored.
"We are pleased that the International Trade Commission has found that recent allegations of Columcom patents are incorrect, and this is another important step to ensure that US companies can compete fairly in the market," Apple said in a statement.