File Photo: People visit the stand of Qualcomm during the First China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, Nov 7, 2018. [Photo/IC]

Qualcomm Inc on Monday said it had won a preliminary order from a Chinese court banning the importation and sale of several Apple Inc iPhone models in China that the court found violated two of Qualcomm's patents.

The preliminary order affects the iPhone 6S through the iPhone X. The ruling is from the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court in China, the same court that earlier this year banned the import of some memory chips by Micron Technology Inc into China. Qualcomm initially filed the case in China in late 2017.

Apple is already disputing the scope of the ban, saying it only applies to iPhones that run on an older operating system.

"Qualcomm's effort to ban our products is another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the world," Apple said in a statement. "All iPhone models remain available for our customers in China. Qualcomm is asserting three patents they had never raised before, including one which has already been invalidated. We will pursue all our legal options through the courts."