Supreme Court denies Apple's bid to continue battling for two Qualcomm patents

The Supreme Court rejected Apple's offer for a hearing on two Qualcomm patents (US Patent No. 7,844,037 and US Patent No. 8,683,362) that were part of lawsuits filed in 2017, alleging infringement by Apple iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.

Reuters notes that Apple and Qualcomm's 2019 settlement of a global legal battle over patents largely ended disputes in favour of a six-year license agreement, but allowed a case to proceed before the Trial and Appeals Board. of Patents of the Patent and Trademark Office. There, Apple argued that the two patents should be invalid, but the board ruled in favour of Qualcomm.

Last April, the Federal Circuit court rejected Apple's appeal request based on the 2019 settlement that covered thousands of patents, including those two. At the time, Apple argued that its royalty payments and the risk of being sued again were grounds for a hearing.

In its appeal to the Supreme Court, Apple argued that Qualcomm could use the patents in a lawsuit again once the license expires in 2025 or 2027 if it is extended. The Justice Department under the Biden administration filed an amicus curia brief rejecting those arguments in May and asked the Supreme Court to deny Apple's request. Now that it has, we'll probably have to wait until the license agreement expires to find out what happens next. Tags: Apple, Qualcomm, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch