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Qualcomm, Intel provide Apple with source code in patent battle with Samsung

Lawyers in the U.S. and Australia are examining source code provided by Qualcomm and Intel to aid Apple in its defense against patent infringement lawsuits from rival Samsung.

A lawyer representing Apple told an Australian court this week that U.S. attorneys have looked over the code, Bloomberg reports. Qualcomm and Intel have also given permission for the code to be used in Samsung's case against Apple.

“Further non-infringing arguments can be made" from the code, said lawyer Andrew Fox.

Qualcomm had been drawn into the legal scrum because Apple believes it is covered under the company's license by the use of its baseband chips. Samsung and Motorola have both attempted to terminate third-party patent rights that Apple has benefitted from.

In January, Samsung petitioned a California District Court to share source code from Qualcomm that it claimed was "critical" to proving its infringement claim against Apple with foreign courts. Apple has also requested access to the cross-licensing agreement between Qualcomm and Samsung during the course of their legal battle.

The battle between Apple and Samsung now covers at least 30 complaints across four continents. According to one recent report, the two companies have been communicating about "potential settlement options."