Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been denied an appeal by the US Supreme Court after it lost patent battles with chipmaker Qualcomm.
Apple and Qualcomm reached a global agreement in 2019 to dismiss all ongoing litigation, including litigation with Apple's contract manufacturers, with both companies inking an agreement to license patents globally and to supply chipsets.
However, a case before the US Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board continued, and Apple argued both patents should be invalidated.
The appeal board reportedly ruled in Qualcomm's favour.
Apple's appeal last year was rejected by the Federal Circuit, and the US Supreme Court has also denied the tech giant's request for a hearing.
Qualcomm and Apple have been at odds over patent licensing practices since 2017, but the 2019 Apple-Qualcomm agreement was reached when chip-maker Intel decided to exit the 5G smartphone modem business.
Apple wanted to pay a lower amount to use Qualcomm technology in its devices, but Qualcomm filed a lawsuit against Apple for patent infringement, seeking a ban on sales.
In its appeal to the US Supreme Court, Apple argued Qualcomm may use the patents as part of a lawsuit once the license expires.
Under the Biden administration, the Department of Justice (DoJ) submitted an amicus brief in May rejecting those arguments and asking the Supreme Court to deny Apple's request.
The DoJ has also backed a bill aimed at banning tech giants from abusing their market dominance the first full-fledged support from the Biden administration for an anti-trust measure.
Apple has also been sued for £750mln in the UK for secretly 'throttling' iPhones.