Qualcomm launched a scathing riposte to an Apple lawsuit, accusing the smartphone manufacturer of breaching agreements, making false statements to regulators, and limiting chip performance in the iPhone 7.

In a counterclaim to the $1 billion lawsuit, originally filed with a California court in January, Qualcomm said Apple encouraged regulatory action against the chipset manufacturer, misrepresented facts and made false statements in investigations.

Qualcomm EVP and general counsel Don Rosenberg stated Apple had “launched a global attack on Qualcomm” and was trying to use “its enormous market power to coerce unfair and unreasonable licence terms.”

The company’s counterclaim defended its business practices and contained a number of accusations against Apple.

These include complaints Apple had failed to enter into fair negotiations on licensing and interfered with relationships held with Qualcomm licensees manufacturing iPhones.

Apple uses Qualcomm modem chips in some of its iPhone 7 handsets, while other versions of the device use Intel chips.

In the filing, Qualcomm said Apple chose to limit the performance of its chipset in the iPhone 7 and had made statements claiming there were no discernible differences between the two versions of the device.

Trial by jury
Qualcomm added it had been blocked from discussing the differences in chip performance in handsets featuring its products. It demanded a jury trial to assess its claims and wants Apple’s complaint dismissed. Qualcomm is also seeking damages for a range of issues raised in the case.

Rosenberg said: “We intend to vigorously defend our business model, and pursue our right to protect and receive fair value for our technological contributions to the industry.”

Apple’s lawsuit accused Qualcomm of levying royalty fees on technologies the company had nothing to do with, and over-charging for employing generally used standards.

In its statement at the time, Apple said: “despite being just one of over a dozen companies who contributed to basic cellular standards, Qualcomm insists on charging Apple at least five times more in payments than all other cellular patent licensors we have agreements with combined.”