In the Matter of Certain Mobile Electronic Devices and Radio Frequency and Processing Components Thereof (Inv. No. 337-TA-1093)

Analysis Group worked with Qualcomm, the complainant in a Section 337 investigation by the US International Trade Commission (ITC). Qualcomm claimed that Apple had infringed its patents related to cameras, radio frequency transceivers, and voltage detectors in some of its iPhones, and requested a ban on the importation of the accused phones.

Analysis Group teams led by Managing Principal T. Christopher Borek and Vice Presidents John Browning, Andrew Clarke, and Anne Catherine Faye supported academic affiliate Judith Chevalier and Managing Principal Carla Mulhern. Professor Chevalier analyzed the potential impact of an exclusion order on the development of, and potential competition in, the market for 5G smartphones in the US, and opined that the 5G market was robust and unlikely to be harmed by an exclusion order. Ms. Mulhern analyzed the impact of a potential exclusion order on the public interest, including an analysis of the four statutory public interest factors, in addition to the potential impact on a third party and on innovation in 5G technologies, and concluded that an exclusion order would have no material adverse impact on the public interest.

The ITC administrative law judge issued an initial determination that Apple had infringed a Qualcomm patent and that the patent was not invalid, and recommended issuance of an order excluding Apple from importing the accused iPhones into the US, as well as a cease-and-desist order precluding Apple from selling previously imported accused iPhones in the US.