The US International Trade Commission (ITC) agreed to examine Qualcomm's claims that the iPhone 7 and other Apple devices are violating its patents, which will be a new stage in the legal proceedings between the two sides of the patent battle.

The preliminary investigation will be closed within 45 days, and the decision will be made "in the very near future," stated in the statement of ITC. It is reported that Qualcomm demanded to ban the import of Apple devices in the US that violate its intellectual property rights.

ITC's decision to initiate the investigation was expected for some time, and, foreseeing such a turn of events, the Association of Computer Manufacturers and Communications (CCIA), which includes companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Google and Samsung, among others, sent Commission letter with a request not to prohibit the import of smartphones iPhone with Intel chips. Some smartphones for iPhone 7 use Intel's modems instead of Qualcomm chips.

Qualcomm sued ITC as part of a response to Apple's lawsuit filed in January this year, in which Qualcomm is accused of abusing a dominant position in the market with the goal of overstating royalties and forcing chip purchasers to sign licensing agreements for patents.