Qualcomm has just scored a major victory in its ongoing legal battle with Apple.
The chipmaker won a preliminary injunction from a Chinese court that would ban the sale and import of many of Apple’s recent iPhone models in China, including the iPhone 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, and X, via Axios.
Apple downplayed the significance of the decision, noting to CNBC that iOS 12 (which is supported by all of the phones in the ruling) avoids the patent conflict. The company also says that it is still selling the devices in China.
Qualcomm Incorporated is an American multinational semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company that designs and markets wireless telecommunications products and services.
It derives most of its revenue from chipmaking and the bulk of its profit from patent licensing businesses.
The company has been trying to ban iPhone sales in China for over a year, following an attempt to ban sales in the US (although that ban has yet to be upheld by regulators).
These bans are just one part of a long-ranging legal battle, which has seen accusations from Apple that Qualcomm was using its market dominance to unreasonably raise prices, and Qualcomm claiming that Apple stole Qualcomm’s source code to share with rival modem supplier Intel.
According to Reuters, the court ruled that Apple is violating software patents held by Qualcomm that are specifically related to resizing pictures and managing applications, meaning that Apple could easily update its software to circumvent the court order.