Qualcomm stumps up cash for German sales ban on Apple's iPhones

The sale of some models of Apple iPhone is under threat in Germany after US chipmaker Qualcomm pushed to enforce a ban following a long-running patent dispute.

Qualcomm said it had posted security bonds worth €1.34bn in order to trigger a sales ban after a Munich court last month ruled in favour of the chip company’s claim that Apple had infringed one of its patents which aids in saving battery power while sending and receiving wireless signals.

Apple plans to appeal the ruling, which prohibits the sale of iPhone models 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and X, with the security bonds in place to cover any potential losses if the ruling is overturned.

The models will be pulled from the 15 Apple stores in Germany, but a spokesman for Gravis, Germany’s biggest third-party reseller of Apple products, said on Friday that it still had all Apple products on sale.

The German case follows similar efforts by Qualcomm to secure bans on iPhone sales in the United States and China, with Chinese courts ruling that Apple’s devices had violated Qualcomm’s patents.

Despite the release of a software update to address concerns over whether it was in compliance with Chinese courts, Apple has continued to sell its phones in the country and has filed a request for the court to reconsider its ruling.

The news comes after Apple said after the close of US markets on Wednesday that its first-quarter sales would be lower than expected due to weaker sales in China, exacerbating worries of a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing.

Apple's shares were down 9.96% at $142.19 at 1120 GMT.