Apple Sues Ericsson Over Patents Related to LTE Connectivity
Apple Inc. sued Ericsson , alleging the patents being asserted by the Swedish networking giant aren’t “essential” to high-speed wireless technology the iPhone maker uses in its mobile devices.
In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for Northern California, Apple said Ericsson is demanding excessive royalties for its LTE patents, despite having agreed to license the patents on “fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory” terms.
“We’ve always been willing to pay a fair price to secure the rights to standards essential patents covering technology in our products,” an Apple spokeswoman said. “Unfortunately, we have not been able to agree with Ericsson on a fair rate for their patents so, as a last resort, we are asking the courts for help.”
In response, Ericsson on Wednesday said it had filed its own complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas asking the court for an independent assessment on whether its licensing offer to Apple is fair.
The legal actions come after the expiration of a license agreement between the two companies and a failure to reach a new deal despite around two years of negotiations, resulting in Apple being without a license to Ericsson’s technology, the Swedish company said.
Ericsson claims every Apple smartphone and tablet with cellular capability uses its technology.
The public version of Apple’s complaint, which was redacted, doesn’t disclose the amount of money involved. Apple said Ericsson has sought royalties for the LTE technology based on the “end prices of entire LTE devices.” Instead, Apple said royalties should be based on the value of the chip that includes the LTE technology.
Apple said it has a 2008 licensing agreement with Ericsson that covers many of the patents that Ericsson deems standard and essential.
If Ericsson’s patents are deemed essential and the court rules Apple has infringed on them, Apple said it wants the court to assign a “reasonable royalty rate.”
Source: wsj – Apple Sues Ericsson Over Patents Related to LTE Connectivity
