Qualcomm says Tim Cook’s quote was ‘misleading’ and ‘deliberately tarnishes reputation’

9to5 Staff | Jan 9 2019 - 5:04 am PT

On Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down with CNBC and spoke all-things Apple, including a defense of the company’s recent rare earnings miss, calling out reports of a failing iPhone XR and the future of Apple’s services business. During the interview, Cook was quick to address the ongoing lawsuit with California-based chipmaker Qualcomm.

When asked about a possible settlement with the company, Cook replied,

We haven’t been in any settlement discussions with [Qualcomm] since the third calendar quarter of last year… So I’m not sure where that thinking is coming from.

The rebuke comes in the wake of multiple Qualcomm executives speaking publicly over the prior months, continually claiming a resolution with Apple was right “on the doorstep”. Even president Cristiano Amon said the battle with Apple was ending “one way or another” just last December.

Immediately following Cook’s response, a spokesperson for Qualcomm was again, quick to retort.

[Apple’s statement is] once again misleading and appear to be a deliberately timed attempt to tarnish our company’s reputation

We have been consistent for the last 18 months in making clear that we have, at various times, been in discussions with Apple about a possible resolution to our licensing dispute.

Cook summarized Apple’s issue with Qualcomm during yesterday’s CNBC interview, explaining,

The issue that we have with Qualcomm is that they have a policy of no license, no chips. This is, in our view, illegal. And then, secondly, they have an obligation to offer their patent portfolio on a fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory basis and they don’t do that. They charge exorbitant prices.

At any rate, it seems all but guaranteed that these two companies won’t be settling anything, ultimately leaving the decision up to the courts.

Who do you feel is in the right versus wrong throughout this dispute? Let us know in the comments section below!