In a legal filing submitted Sept. 25, Qualcomm accused Apple of stealing its trade secrets to improve Intel products — which Qualcomm argues led Apple to switch out its semiconductors for Intel's, costing Qualcomm billions of dollars in lost sales, Reuters reports.
Qualcomm claimed Apple's actions were part of a "multi-year campaign of sloppy, inappropriate and deceitful conduct" designed to improve Intel's chipsets for use in Apple products. Apple previously used Qualcomm modem chips in its iPhones, which helped the device connect to wireless data networks, but in 2016, it switched to using Intel chips in some models.
The lawsuit builds on a complaint filed in November, in which Qualcomm alleged Apple misused its software to share information about its chips with Intel engineers.
"Unlawful use of Qualcomm's valuable trade secrets to try to help a competitor catch up irreparably harms us and must not be allowed to continue," Qualcomm's general counsel, Donald Rosenberg, told CNBC.