Apple is no stranger to legal disputes involving their innovative products. Recently, Apple was the subject of controversy as it was alleged to have stolen trade secrets from Qualcomm and shared them with Intel Corporation after Qualcomm allowed Apple access to its source code and tools for LTE modem chipsets. Qualcomm is claiming Apple misappropriated their trade secrets in an attempt to preserve the quality of the chips Apple purchases, but change the supplier of the chips from Qualcomm to Intel Corporation for their new iPhones.
A complaint was initially filed in November by Qualcomm claiming that Apple breached a software-licensing contract by sharing confidential details regarding Qualcomm’s chips with engineers at Intel Corporation. A motion to amend the complaint filed on Monday accuses Apple of stealing trade secrets “for the purpose of improving lower-quality modem chipsets, including those manufactured by Intel, a competitor of Qualcomm, to render such chipsets useable in Apple devices with the ultimate goal of diverting Qualcomm’s Apple-based business.”
While the lawsuit is scheduled to be heard in April 2019, the proposal of an amended complaint might push back the anticipated date.
