Qualcomm posts court ordered bonds to stop iPhone sales in Germany

Albert Gea | Reuters

People walk past Qualcomm's stand during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 24, 2016.

Qualcomm said on Thursday it posted security bonds of 1.34 billion euros ($1.52 billion) in order to be able to enforce a court order that will ban sales of some Apple Inc iPhones in Germany.

The chipmaker needed to post the bonds as part of a legal requirement by a German court, which on Dec. 20 found that Apple had infringed Qualcomm patents on power saving technology used in smartphones.

The iPhone maker had earlier said it would pull some older models from its German stores.

According to the court order, Apple has to stop the sale, offer for sale and importation for sale of all infringing iPhones in Germany. Apple had said it was appealing the decision, but the order goes into effect as soon as Qualcomm posts the bond.

The court also ordered Apple to recall infringing iPhones from third party resellers in Germany, according to a statement by Qualcomm.

Munich regional court and Apple were not immediately available for comment.

The German case is Qualcomm's third major effort to secure a ban on Apple's lucrative iPhones over patent infringement allegations after similar moves in the U.S. and China, and part of the ongoing global patent skirmish between the two companies.