Apple found “continuing -- and mounting -- evidence of Qualcomm’s perpetuation of an illegal business model that burdens innovation".  It claims some of the patents that Qualcomm wants to get paid for are invalid and that Qualcomm hasn’t fulfilled its obligation to charge fair and reasonable rates on patents related to industry standards.

Apple has stepped up the legal battle against Qualcomm with an argument that states that approximately 12 of Qualcomm's patents were invalid since they conflict with already established and existing patents and that others were irrelevant (not required anymore) for cellular communications.

Apple further stated in the filing that Qualcomm wants to continue to keep rights over a product even after selling it, which was the same issue involved with Lexmark and printer retailers, which the Supreme Court struck down by saying that Lexmark's rights ended once they sold the cartridges.

Basically, Apple is saying that Qualcomm cannot demand royalties for its technology after selling the chips to Apple.

Qualcomm’s demand that it be paid a percentage of every phone “may have been defensible when a phone was just a phone,” Apple said in its filing. “Today it amounts to a scheme of extortion that allows Qualcomm unfairly to maintain and entrench its existing monopoly.”

The Apple lawsuit was first filed days after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission lodged an antitrust complaint that Apple was being forced to exclusivity use Qualcomm chips in return for lower licensing fees. Regulatory agencies around the world have been investigating Qualcomm.

Source: bloomberg