Courts in U.S., China, Germany to Consider Apple-Qualcomm Patent Cases

After more than a year of vicious accusations and a flurry of lawsuits and counter claims, Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc.’s multibillion-dollar legal dispute is about to get serious. Hearings in the three most important markets -- the U.S., China and Germany -- will soon determine whether Apple’s attempt to save itself billions in technology licensing payments by forcing one of the world’s biggest chipmakers to change the way it does business is legal.