Apple CEO Tim Cook to be Deposed in Ongoing Qualcomm Legal Battle

Apple CEO Tim Cook will testify in June as the iPhone maker’s tumultuous legal battle with chipmaker Qualcomm picks up speed.

A new report from Mashable explains that Cook will appear in what will most likely be a private deposition on June 27 to provide evidence for Apple’s allegations that Qualcomm had unfairly insisted on charging royalties for “technologies they have nothing to do with.”

News of the deposition is the latest move in an increasingly messy legal battle between the two tech giants.

Apple sued Qualcomm in January 2017, following a US Federal Trade Commission lawsuit against the semiconductor company over the licensing of standard-essential patents. The smartphone maker claimed that the more it innovated with new features, the more money Qualcomm collected for “no reason.”

Apple argued that Qualcomm had withheld nearly $1 billion USD in payments from Apple in retaliation for “responding truthfully to law enforcement agencies investigating them.”

Qualcomm has denied “each and every claim stated” and filed counterclaims, accusing Apple of abusing its power.

While both Apple and Qualcomm have publicly expressed hopes that their agreements could be resolved outside of court, Qualcomm has since pursued a sales injunction on iPhones while Apple has continually worked to force Qualcomm out of its supply chain.