U.S. Judge Recommends Ban on Select iPhones Over Qualcomm Patent Infringement

In one of the two patent infringement lawsuits, a U.S. trade judge has recommended before the U.S. International Trade Commission that some iPhone models, which are made in China, should be blocked from import into the U.S. as a result of Apple infringing a Qualcomm patent, Bloomberg is reporting.

According to a notice posted on the Washington agency’s electronic docket, ITC Judge MaryJoan McNamara found no violation of two other Qualcomm patents in the case. It must, however, be noted that the judge’s findings are subject to review by the full commission, which has the power to block imports of products that infringe U.S. patents.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm continues to seek billions of dollars in unpaid royalties on the iPhone, in addition to an import ban on iPhones to give it greater leverage in technology licensing negotiations:

In this case, Qualcomm contends Apple iPhones with Intel Corp. chips infringe two patents related to ways to improve the speed and quality of data downloads and one for a power-saving feature.

Apple denies infringing the patents and claims Qualcomm is trying to shut its only U.S.-based competitor out of the market, which the Cupertino, California-based company argues will hinder the development of the fifth-generation of mobile communications.

Qualcomm also argues that if it can’t enforce its patents, that will lessen the value of its innovation and give rivals like China’s Huawei a chance to gain greater market share.