Ericsson is suing Apple for patent infringement after refusing to have a court determine fair licensing terms. Ericsson said it filed with the ITC (U.S. International Trade Commission) asking for an exclusion order against Apple products for infringing on patents essential to the 2G and 4G/LTE standards. Ericsson also filed a second complaint asking for an exclusion order and several complaints in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas asking for damages and injunctions for infringement of patents that are, according to Ericsson, “critical to many other aspects of Apple’s devices.” The head of patent strategy at the company said that Apple’s license agreement with Ericsson had expired in mid-January.
Apple filed a lawsuit on January 12, saying that the LTE wireless tech patents weren’t essential to industry cellular standards and that Ericsson was asking for unreasonable royalties.
If the court goes Ericsson’s way, Apple would have to pay between $250-750 million yearly. Ericsson had a revenue of $1.18 billion in 2014.
