By Dominic Chopping
STOCKHOLM-- Ericsson AB said Friday it is suing Apple Inc. for
infringing 41 patents it says are critical to many aspects of the
U.S. tech giant's devices.
The Swedish networking company said Apple had declined a
licensing deal and refused an offer to have a court determine fair
licensing terms by which both companies would be bound, so it has
filed two complaints with the U.S. International Trade Commission,
and seven complaints in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Texas.
The patents in question relate to 2Q and 4G long-term evolution
standards and features that Ericsson said are critical to the
functionality of Apple devices.
Ericsson said the legal action is aimed at securing an exclusion
order against Apple's products as well as damages and
injunctions.
"By refusing Ericsson's fair and reasonable licensing offer for
patented technology used in Apple smartphones and tablets, Apple
harms the entire market and reduces the incentive to share
innovation," the company said in a statement.
Only last month, the companies said they were suing each other
in a dispute over royalties for patents linked to high-speed
wireless technology. Ericsson said at the time it was taking the
legal action in response to claims by Apple that the patents aren't
"essential" for the LTE wireless communication standard. Apple also
claimed that Ericsson was demanding excessive royalties for its LTE
patents.
Kasim Alfalahi, chief intellectual property officer at Ericsson,
said, "Apple's products benefit from the technology invented and
patented by Ericsson's engineers."
"Apple currently uses our technology without a license and
therefore we are seeking help from the court and the ITC."
Apple couldn't immediately be reached for comment Friday.
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com
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