Qualcomm Technologies Inc. is once again upping the ante in its legal dispute with Apple Inc. over their supply agreements.

The chip maker’s latest move takes the form of a lawsuit that was submitted to the California state court in San Diego on Wednesday and hit the news cycle this morning. In the filing, Qualcomm reportedly accuses Apple of abusing its commercial leverage to access and then unlawfully using sensitive intellectual property.

The technology in question is the software that enables the chip maker’s mobile broadband modems to interact with other parts of a handset. According to Qualcomm, Apple representatives in July requested “highly confidential” information about how the units work with an unidentified wireless carrier’s network. It charges that the iPhone maker then shared the data with an engineer from Intel Corp., which sells rival mobile networking modules.

Qualcomm detailed another incident that allegedly involved an Apple engineer working with a competing broadband model, presumably one from Intel. The lawsuit claims that this individual reached out to a colleague with access to Qualcomm data about certain technical details.

There are two reasons why that’s significant. First, Qualcomm says its agreement with Apple required the latter company to avoid making such information accessible to engineers working on Intel products. Second, the iPhone maker has been manufacturing some of its devices with Intel modems since last year, which could potentially give Qualcomm’s allegations more weight in court.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Qualcomm’s lawsuit follows hot on the heels of a report that Apple is considering to drop its modems entirely. The sources who leaked the plan said that next year’s iPhone and iPad models could already be built with components from other manufacturers, namely Intel or Taiwan-based MediaTek Inc.

Qualcomm’s lawsuit opens a new front in a legal battle that has already spread across multiple countries. In its fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, the chip maker warned that the dispute could significantly impact profits in the long term.

Image: Qualcomm