The staff of the US International Trade Commission (ITC) on Friday recommended that a trade judge find if Apple Inc infringed at least one of Qualcomm Inc's patents, a move that could lead to blocking the import of some iPhones.
The San Diego chipmaker filed a complaint against Apple nearly a year ago, asking the commission to ban the import of iPhones containing rival chipmaker Intel Corp's so-called modem chips, which help mobile phones connect to wireless data networks.
At a trial in Washington that started on Friday, the ITC staff said Apple violated one of Qualcomm's patents around battery-saving technology.
The ITC