Apple CEO Steve Jobs delivers a keynote address at the 2005 Macworld Expo on Jan. 11, 2005. (Photo : Getty Images)
Apple Inc. has filed two lawsuits against Qualcomm Inc. in a Beijing court on Monday, and is seeking $1 billion yuan in damages.
The Cupertino, California-based company is alleging that Qualcomm, one of its major chip suppliers, has abused its dominance in the industry and violated China's Anti-Monopoly Law.
The other lawsuit pertains to the chipmaker's "unfair and unreasonable" licensing practices, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The lawsuits, which were filed in Beijing's Intellectual Property Court, follow Apple's existing suits in the U.S.
Prior to this week's claims, Apple had alleged that the chip company made unfair terms for its patented technologies.
In a statement, Qualcomm said that Apple was given the same terms offered to other Chinese companies, and stressed that it is ready to defend its business model.
Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm, said in an official statement:
"These filings by Apple's Chinese subsidiary are just part of Apple's efforts to find ways to pay less for Qualcomm's technology. Apple was offered terms consistent with terms accepted by more than one hundred other Chinese companies and refused to even consider them. These terms were consistent with our NDRC Rectification plan."
The smartphone maker's lawsuit filed in the U.S. claims that Qualcomm took advantage of its position as the dominant supplier of base band chips, which are crucial components in making a handset. Apple said that Qualcomm made "onerous, unreasonable and costly" terms for its patents, reported the WSJ.
The chip supplier denied the allegations, saying that Apple "mischaracterized agreements and negotiations."
This is not the first time that Qualcomm's licensing practices had been questioned. In 2015, the company paid $975 million to China's antitrust authorities after it violated patent licensing rules.
Last December, South Korean regulators slapped Qualcomm with an $850-million fine over violations against the country's unfair competition laws.
