ALJ McNamara Finds Violation By Apple In Second Qualcomm Investigation & Recommends Remedy Despite Public Interest Arguments
by Elizabeth A. DiMarco
Summary: On March 26, 2019, ALJ McNamara issued her Initial Determination finding a violation based on one claim asserted by Qualcomm in this second-filed Investigation against Apple. The accused iPhone models incorporate a chipset component. Some accused models incorporate a chipset manufactured by Intel, while others incorporate a chipset manufactured by Qualcomm. The parties did not dispute the technical operation of the accused Apple iPhones. Instead, the infringement disputes centered on the parties' dueling claim interpretations. ALJ McNamara resolved certain disputed claim constructions in Qualcomm's favor, leading to a finding of infringement of one asserted claim. The chipset component itself was not found to infringe. Rather, only the assembled Apple iPhone processor, which incorporates the chipset component, was found to infringe.