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Qualcomm argues its role in the smartphone industry as it kicks off latest court battle with Apple

As we noted this morning, the latest court battle between Apple and Qualcomm kicked off today in San Diego. Everything started with Qualcomm arguing that while it doesn’t make a smartphone itself, it’s still an instrumental part of the smartphone industry.

As reported by CNET, Qualcomm’s lead attorney David Nelson argued that the chipmaker is responsible for “a lot of technology” found in smartphones today. Apple has yet to give its opening statement.

“Qualcomm, although it doesn’t make a smartphone — it doesn’t have a product that you and I would buy — it develops a lot of technology in smartphones,” David Nelson, the lead attorney representing Qualcomm, said in an opening statement on Monday.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg notes that Qualcomm’s pitch to the jury today was straight to the point: “We have a dispute, and we can’t resolve it,” Nelson said. The goal of this month’s trial is to determine whether Apple violated Qualcomm’s patents for power management and battery features. CNET explains:

The trial concerns three patents that Qualcomm claims Apple infringed on. One patent allows a smartphone to quickly connect to the internet once the device is turned on. Another deals with graphics processing and battery life. The third lets apps on your phone download data more easily by directing traffic between the apps processor and the modem.

This month’s trial, expected to run for eight days, will largely set the stage for next month’s antitrust trial, which will address Apple’s accusation that Qualcomm used a monopolistic position to ‘double-dip’ when collecting royalties from Apple.

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Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is an editor for the entire 9to5 network and covers the latest Apple news for 9to5Mac.

Tips, questions, typos to chance@9to5mac.com