Apple can no longer sell certain iPhones in China

Ah China, the land of surprises. While few patent lawsuits by foreign companies ever see a positive outcome there, Qualcomm has just won one against Apple. And they have been granted preliminary injunctions against Apple, banning the Cupertino-based tech giant from selling iPhones in China.

The injunction doesn’t block all iPhones, but instead only bans certain models which are allegedly using Qualcomm’s intellectual property without appropriate compensation. The affected models range from the iPhone 6S all the way up to the iPhone X. It seems like the latest iPhones aren’t affected though.

The well-known patent troll are being accused of infringing on patents which enable consumers to adjust and reformat the size and appearance of photographs, and to manage applications using a touch screen when viewing, navigating and dismissing applications on their phones. Really vague stuff, I know, but so are curved corners on a smartphone.

Qualcomm is also pursuing legal action against Apple’s infringement of other Qualcomm patents in China and other jurisdictions around the world. It would be interesting to see Apple’s response to this injunction, as they can easily release a software update to stop infringing on the patent.

Pokdepinion: Well, that’s funny how the tables have turned for Apple.