Ericsson sues Apple for patent infringement to defend fair licensing system

Ericsson filed two complaints with the International Trade Commission (ITC) and seven complaints in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Apple asserting 41 patents covering many aspects of Apple's iPhones and iPads. The patents include standard essential patents related to the 2G and 4G/LTE standards as well as other patents that are critical to features and functionality of Apple devices such as the design of semiconductor components, user interface software, location services and applications, as well as the iOS operating system. Ericsson seeks exclusion orders in the ITC proceedings and damages and injunctions in the District Court actions.

Kasim Alfalahi, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Ericsson, said: "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 livestream television shows or access their favorite apps from their phone - rely on the technology we have developed. 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 license and therefore we are seeking help from the court and the ITC."

Last month, Ericsson filed a suit in the Eastern District of Texas in order to receive an independent assessment on whether Ericsson's global licensing offer to Apple complies with Ericsson's commitment to offer fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms. Apple also filed a lawsuit asking the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to find that it does not infringe a small subset of Ericsson's patents, a claim that Ericsson disputes.

Apple's global license agreement for Ericsson's mobile technology expired last month, and Apple has declined to take a new license offered on FRAND terms. Ericsson made several attempts to find a fair solution, including an offer for both parties to be bound by a decision on fair licensing terms by a United States federal court. Apple has refused all attempts, so Ericsson has filed these infringement complaints to defend the industry's long-standing principle of technology sharing.

Ericsson has one of the industry's strongest intellectual property portfolios, which includes more than 35,000 granted patents worldwide. To date, Ericsson has signed more than 100 patent-licensing agreements with most of the major players in the industry.