Apple files a $145 million patent suit against Qualcomm in China

Apple doesn’t do lawsuits lightly. Hot on the heels of a suit against Qualcomm here in the States, it’s taking the San Diego-based chipmaker to intellectual property court in Beijing.

The damages are considerably less than the Stateside suit, at “just” 1 billion yuan ($145.32 million), compared to $1 billion here, but the allegations are similar, with Apple accusing the component company of not delivering on patent-related promises.

In a statement sent to TechCrunch, Qualcomm general counsel Don Rosenberg said that the company had yet to actually see the suit filing with Beijing’s Intellectual Property Court, but still didn’t mince words.

“These filings by Apple’s Chinese subsidiary are just part of Apple’s efforts to find ways to pay less for Qualcomm’s technology,” said Rosenberg. “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.”

In keeping with the company’s response to other recent suits, Rosenberg added that Qualcomm, “is prepared to defend its business model anywhere in the world. We are proud of our history of contributing our inventions to the development and success of the mobile communications ecosystem.”

Qualcomm was hit with a $975 million fine in China back in 2015, and received an $854 million fine in South Korea at the end of last year, over unfair patent licensing processes.

Recent charges from the US FTC seem to have helped embolden Apple’ recent spate of suits. For its part, Qualcomm has already openly accused Apple of “actively encouraging regulatory attacks” around the world “by misrepresenting facts and withholding information.”

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment.