Apple has filed an appeal to overturn a broad iPhone sales ban in China, the company told CNBC.

The ban of some iPhone models, announced earlier Monday, follows a request for an injunction by Qualcomm, which has been locked in a legal battle with Apple for years. The chipmaker is alleging patent violations on features that let users reformat the size and appearance of photos and manage applications on a touchscreen when navigating through phone apps.

The two preliminary injunctions were granted Monday by the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court in China. Apple said that it did not violate these patents and that the ban goes beyond the scope of the injunction itself.

"Qualcomm's effort to ban our products is another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the world," Apple said in a statement earlier Monday. "All iPhone models remain available for our customers in China. Qualcomm is asserting three patents they had never raised before, including one which has already been invalidated. We will pursue all our legal options through the courts."

Apple claims the patents in question do not cover the company's latest operating system that comes installed on all new iPhones.

General counsel for Qualcomm, Don Rosenberg, said in a statement Monday that the orders aren't specific to the operating system installed on the phones.

Source: cnbc