Chip-maker Qualcomm is seeking nearly $31 million in damages from Apple for violating its intellectual property rights.

The ongoing trial in a US court is focused on three Qualcomm technology patents, which the company claims Apple used without permission on its iPhones, CNET reported on Friday.

"The figure is based on $1.40 per allegedly infringed iPhone," said Qualcomm.

One patent allows a smartphone to quickly connect to the Internet once the device is turned on.

Another one deals with graphics processing and battery life while the third lets apps on your phone download data more easily.

The amount is not much for Apple but "a victory for Qualcomm would help to brandish its reputation as a mobile components innovator and lend credibility to the idea that much of those innovations went into iPhones," said the report.

On Thursday, reports surfaced that an Indian-origin former Apple engineer Arjuna Siva, who is star witness in a patent trial against chip-maker Qualcomm, has decided not to depose before the court on behalf of the iPhone maker.

The two companies have been entangled in legal battles for years.