Qualcomm filed a court complaint against four manufacturers of Apple’s iPhones and iPads for failing to pay royalties and breaching licence agreements.

In a statement, Qualcomm said it was taking action against Foxconn, Pegatron Corporation, Wistron Corporation and Compal Electronics, after the manufacturers refused to pay royalties on the iPhones and iPads they produce, under Apple’s orders.

“While not disputing their contractual obligations to pay for the use of Qualcomm’s inventions, the manufacturers say they must follow Apple’s instructions not to pay,” read the complaint.

Qualcomm declared it was seeking an order “that would require the defendants to comply with their long-standing contractual obligations to Qualcomm, as well as declaratory relief and damages”.

Apple began the spat with Qualcomm in January after launching its own legal case accusing the company of overcharging for chips and refusing to pay $1 billion in rebates.

Qualcomm then hit back in a counterclaim against Apple for breaching agreements, as well as a number of other allegations, including claims Apple limited its chip performance in the iPhone 7 smartphone.

In April, Qualcomm also stated Apple was “improperly interfering” in its relationship with device makers.

At the time, Qualcomm’s EVP and general counsel Don Rosenberg argued Apple was: “using its market power as the wealthiest company in the world to try and coerce unfair and unreasonable licence terms from Qualcomm in its global attack on the company”.

Furthermore, Qualcomm said the manufacturers in question were still paying Qualcomm royalties to use its technology in non-Apple products, “under the very same agreements that apply to the Apple products”.

Commenting on the recent move, Rosenberg said: “It is unfortunate that we must take this action against these long-time licensees to enforce our agreements, but we cannot allow these manufacturers and Apple to use our valuable intellectual property without paying the fair and reasonable royalties to which we have agreed.”