Ericsson is suing Apple for alleged patent infringement.
The Swedish multinational provider of communications technology has filed two complaints with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) over infringements of its patents that are essential to the 2G and 4G/LTE standards.
It also filed seven complaints with a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas requesting damages and injunctions for infringement of patents “critical to many other aspects of Apple’s devices”.
Ericsson is yet another company suing Apple over patent infringement.
Ericsson claims that Apple has infringed on as many as 41 of their mobile patents related to user interface software, location services, applications, semiconductor components, and the iOS operating system.
“Apple’s products benefit from the technology invented and patented by Ericsson’s engineers. Features that consumers now take for granted – like being able to live-stream television shows or access their favourite apps from their phone – rely on the technology we have developed,” said Ericsson chief intellectual property officer Kais Alfalahi, explaining the grounds for the suit.
“We are committed to sharing our innovations and have acted in good faith to find a fair solution. Apple currently uses our technology without a licence and therefore we are seeking help from the court and the ITC.”
Apple was paying Ericsson for a global license covering mobile technology inked in 2008. But last month the contract expired and Apple did not re-sign.
Ericsson insists that it has tried to find a fair solution to the problem, but has Apple refused to cooperate. The Swedish firm claims that the new license was offered on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.
Apple said Ericsson “seeks to exploit its patents to take the value of these cutting-edge Apple innovations” and accused the firm of “abusive licensing practices.”