Hot on the heels of Apple suing Qualcomm over its Snapdragon processors, Qualcomm has fired back by filing a patent lawsuit (a counter-countersuit?) against Apple for technology in the iPhone 8 and iPhone X.

Qualcomm filed its grievance with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. It singles out five patents that Apple is allegedly infringing on — including tech related to radio frequency transceivers, power management in mobile CPUs, image enhancement using depth-based data, and more.

Devices named in the lawsuit include the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8, and Apple’s critically and commercially successful iPhone X.

Qualcomm is asking for a court trial and is asking for an injunction against the devices allegedly infringing on its patent. Oh, and assorted damages and fees as well!

The war between Qualcomm and Apple

Qualcomm’s countersuit came one day after Apple filed its own lawsuit against Qualcomm, alleging that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon mobile phone chips, which power a number of Android handsets, violate Apple’s patents.

It’s the latest round of a battle which broke out back in January, when Apple sued Qualcomm for allegedly withholding $1 billion in rebates because Apple assisted South Korean regulators investigating Qualcomm’s business.

Qualcomm then hit back back by claiming Apple had breached its contract with the company. The decision by Apple to withhold royalty payments to Qualcomm meant that Qualcomm then had to revise its earnings forecasts to give a smaller number, due to Apple cutting off one of its major sources of revenue. Apple’s manufacturers also got dragged into the fight, while even Apple’s biggest rivals stepped up to support the Cupertino tech giant.

Qualcomm’s boss has suggested that the conflict between the two companies could be solved, but that this is going to require Apple writing a big check. With potential patent violations taking place on both sides, we pity the jurors who have to untangle this giant “who wronged who?” mess. Even if the lawyers on both sides are probably popping champagne with every new complication!

Via: Apple Insider