The U.S. International Trade Commission in a final determination on Tuesday nullified Qualcomm’s bid for an iPhone import ban, finding a leveraged patent covering power efficiency technology to be invalid.
In a notice posted to the ITC website (PDF link), the commission sided with Apple’s reading that a key claim in Qualcomm’s U.S. Patent No. 9,535,490 is invalid based on prior art. Specifically, Apple presented “clear and convincing evidence” that Qualcomm’s IP claim, leveraged as ground for infringement, is obvious in respect to two previously issued patents.
As a result of the determination, Qualcomm’s bid to obtain a U.S. import ban against certain iPhone models has been quashed.
The decision concurs with a ruling from Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pender, who in September issued an initial determination regarding the ‘490 patent and two other Qualcomm patents claimed infringed. While the ALJ found potential infringement of the ‘490 patent — subject of today’s final determination — Apple was absolved of impinging on Qualcomm’s U.S. Patent Nos. 8,698,558 and 8,633,936.
Pender recommended against an exclusion order, saying such action would be counter to the public interest.
The commission adopted the initial determination of non-infringement in regard to the ‘558 and ‘936 patents, and resolved to review claim 31 of the ‘949 patent. Today’s ruling effectively clears Apple of a possible ban on iPhone models using Intel chips instead of those supplied by Qualcomm.
The decision arrived hours after an ALJ in a separate case recommended a partial iPhone ban after determining Apple’s smartphone in infringement of one Qualcomm patent.