Apple’s workaround for German fake injunction exacerbates Qualcomm’s antitrust woes

“At the end of my shareholder-value-focused analysis of Qualcomm’s $1.5 billion deposit for the immediate enforcement of a Germany-wide patent injunction against the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 8, I predicted it was going to be ‘a Pyrrhic victory.’ By now it’s clear that ‘Pyrrhic victory’ is a euphemism,” Florian Mueller writes for FOSS Patents. “It’s a total disaster for Qualcomm, actually.”
Mueller writes, “A waste of money; zero leverage over Apple (which as of today is again selling all iPhone models in Germany without restrictions); zero proof of patent portfolio strength; a significant risk of additional EU antitrust problems because it underpins a complaint by Apple that had already given rise to preliminary investigations by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP); and adverse effects on Qualcomm’s reputation in U.S. and Asian competition circles.”

#iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 available again on #Apple‘s German online store. Using #Qualcomm baseband chips only in those devices to work around $QCOM‘s Munich injunction. Removal of #Intel chips raises #antitrust issues. Complaint with @EU_Competition is pending. pic.twitter.com/d1b8uCOi6B
— Florian Mueller (@FOSSpatents) February 14, 2019

“With what has happened now, Apple’s warnings against the potential anticompetitive effects of Qualcomm’s enforcement of patent injunctions have been validated,” Mueller writes. “Indeed, the only practical alternative that Apple apparently had was to use Qualcomm chips again, which means Intel loses some potential sales.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: In a nutshell, Apple makes Qualcomm look like witless idiots.
SEE ALSO:
Apple resumes selling iPhones in Germany, but with only Qualcomm modems – February 14, 2019
South Korean Supreme Court upholds $242 million antitrust judgement against Qualcomm – February 12, 2019
Bad news piles up for Qualcomm in Apple dispute – February 10, 2019
Apple wins damages ruling against Qualcomm – February 5, 2019
U.S. FTC: Evidence is ‘overwhelming’ that Qualcomm engaged in exclusionary, anticompetitive conduct – January 30, 2019
Leaked emails reveal new reason why Apple went to war with Qualcomm – January 18, 2019
Apple’s COO Jeff Williams delivers blistering testimony on Qualcomm’s ‘onerous demands’ – January 15, 2019
Apple was paying Qualcomm over $1 billion per year in licensing – January 15, 2019