Apple has been ordered to stop using a recent press release, saying that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 will still be sold in Germany through carriers and distributors. Earlier this month, German courts issued an initial sales ban on some older iPhones, and Apple issued a statement saying that although Apple will stop selling these devices at its retail stores, it will still sell through other means.
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Qualcomm this week received another preliminary injunction prohibiting Apple from using the statement because it was “misleading.” Qualcomm said the court’s ruling also asked Apple to stop selling iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 through dealers. “This press release is misleading because it contains statements that are potentially deceptive at least in terms of the availability of goods,” the judge said. “This sentence gives the impression of unlimited availability.”
Since this year, Apple has not sold iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 in German retail stores or online stores. Before the ban on the press release, Apple was asked to remove the iPhone from the partner store. However, some German dealers continue to sell these devices. In addition to Germany, Qualcomm also won a preliminary ban on multiple iPhones in China, but Apple was able to circumvent this ruling through software updates. Apple’s latest iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max are not affected by sales and import bans.
