Apple acuza Qualcomm de santaj, cere 1 miliard de dolari

Apple acuza Qualcomm de santaj si practici monopoliste intr-o cerere de chemare in judecata depusa in cursul zilei de ieri la o instanta din SUA. Actiunea americanilor vine la doar o saptamana dupa ce autoritatile americane au actionat Qualcomm in judecata deoarece ar fi fortat Apple sa accepte conditii incorecte pentru cumpararea de chip-uri modem si licentierea unor tehnologii.

Separat de acuzatiile de santaj, cei de la Apple afirma ca Qualcomm nu le-a platit 1 miliard de dolari in taxe pentru licentierea unor tehnologii. Apple afirma ca Qualcomm i-a cerut sa licentieze tehnologii de care nu are nevoie si dupa ce a colaborat cu autoritatile din Coreea de Sud, a refuzat sa le plateasca celor din Cupertino 1 miliard de dolari in taxe de licentiere.

Autoritatile din SUA au urmat actiunile celor din Coreea de Sud in actionarea companiei in judecata, acolo Apple colaborand deasemenea pentru a ajuta statul sa opreasca practicile monopoliste ale Qualcomm, iar asa cei de la Qualcomm s-au hotarat ca decizia cea mai buna este de a bloca plata a 1 miliard de dolari catre Apple.

Apple acuza Qualcomm de santaj, cere 1 miliard de dolari

Desi Apple a cumparat chip-uri modem de la Qualcoom in mod exclusiv pana la lansarea iPhone 7, afirma ca i s-au cerut de 5 ori mai multi bani decat altor companii, pentru licentierea unor tehnologii. Pentru folosirea exclusiva a acestor componente si tehnologii, Apple ar fi trebuit sa primeasca reduceri, insa in ultimul an nu a mai primit nimic deoarece a colaborat cu autoritatile.

“Apple is suing Qualcomm for roughly $1 billion, saying Qualcomm has been “charging royalties for technologies they have nothing to do with.”Apple says that Qualcomm has taken “radical steps,” including “withholding nearly $1 billion in payments from Apple as retaliation for responding truthfully to law enforcement agencies investigating them.””

Qualcomm a fost amendata cu suma de 850 de milioane de dolari in Coreea de Sud din cauza practicilor anticoncurentiale, iar amenda a fost platita din miliardul de dolari care trebuia sa ajunga la Apple. Fara a mai primi bani de 1 an de zile, cei de la Apple s-au decis sa atace Qualcomm, principalul lor furnizor de chip-uri modem pentru iPhone si iPad.

Decizia de a initia procesul are la baza si faptul ca Apple ii plateste companiei Qualcomm un procent din pretul mediu de vanzare al fiecarui iPhone, pentru a avea acces la tehnologiile lor. Practic, Apple plateste anumite sume de bani catre Qualcomm si reprimeste o parte inapoi sub forma de reduceri, insa intelegerile nu ar fi pe placul americanilor.

Aceste procese vor avea cu siguranta drept efect folosirea unui numar mai mare de modem-uri Intel in viitoarele modele ale iPhone, iar Qualcomm va pierde foarte mult bani din tot acest scandal.

“For many years Qualcomm has unfairly insisted on charging royalties for technologies they have nothing to do with. The more Apple innovates with unique features such as TouchID, advanced displays, and cameras, to name just a few, the more money Qualcomm collects for no reason and the more expensive it becomes for Apple to fund these innovations. Qualcomm built its business on older, legacy, standards but reinforces its dominance through exclusionary tactics and excessive royalties. Despite being just one of over a dozen companies who contributed to basic cellular standards, Qualcomm insists on charging Apple at least five times more in payments than all the other cellular patent licensors we have agreements with combined.

To protect this business scheme Qualcomm has taken increasingly radical steps, most recently withholding nearly $1B in payments from Apple as retaliation for responding truthfully to law enforcement agencies investigating them.

Apple believes deeply in innovation and we have always been willing to pay fair and reasonable rates for patents we use. We are extremely disappointed in the way Qualcomm is conducting its business with us and unfortunately after years of disagreement over what constitutes a fair and reasonable royalty we have no choice left but to turn to the courts.”