Apple sues Ericsson over allegedly inessential LTE wireless technology patents
Apple has filed a lawsuit against Ericsson over the latter’s LTE wireless technology patents, according to a new report by Reuters.
The two companies have been in a license agreement involving the patents since 2008, a year after the original launch of Apple’s iPhone.
In the suit, the Cupertino-based iPhone maker claims that it has not infringed on the Swedish communications technology provider’s patents, which it says are not essential to industry standards.
What’s more, Apple alleges that Ericsson is demanding royalties at an exorbitant rate, which is based on the price of the device the technology is embedded in rather than of the chip that runs the technology.
Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller touting LTE on iPhone.
But in the event that Ericsson’s patents are declared essential and Apple is found to have infringed on them by the court, Apple simply wishes a reasonable royalty rate to be decided upon.
“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 spokesman said in a statement. “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.”
See also: Apple and other big tech firms agree to new settlement in anti-poaching lawsuit, Lawsuit filed against Apple over allegedly faulty MacBook logic boards dismissed by judge, and Apple’s Beats facing suit from Monster, its original headphone manufacturing partner.
