A Chinese court has ruled that its verdict in a dispute between Apple and Qualcomm, which bans the sales of certain iPhone models in China, is not subject to appeal.
Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court in southeast China's Fujian Province confirmed that it already issued its verdict on the Qualcomm-iPhone dispute last week, China Securities Journal reported Tuesday, citing people close to the court.
Qualcomm announced on Monday that the Chinese court found that Apple had infringed on two patents held by the chipmaker. As a result, the court granted preliminary injunctions ordering four Chinese subsidiaries of Apple to stop selling and importing older models from the iPhone 6S through to the iPhone X.
Apple said on Monday it had filed a request for reconsideration with the court, and all iPhone models remained on sale in China.
The source told the China Securities Journal that because the verdict fell within the scope of patent injunctions, the first decision shall not subject to appeal, and the injunctions should apply nationwide in China.
Lin Wei, a lawyer based in Beijing, told Yicai that since the injunctions were preliminary, Apple is allowed to file for reconsideration with the court.
"But reconsideration is not an appeal. Usually it will soon get a conclusion and the original verdict is rarely revised," he said.
The source also said that the injunctions should take effect once they were issued.
According to Lin, the order only targets the company Apple, meaning iPhone sellers and handsets that are already in the market will not be affected.
A legal professional said that Qualcomm and Apple could still resolve the dispute through a settlement process even after the injunctions take effect.
The order could be lifted by the court, should both parties reach an agreement between themselves.
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