What you need to know
- Ericsson sued Apple in the US earlier this week.
- The company says Apple is infringing its mobile data patents now a 2015 licensing deal between the two has ended.
- It has now filed further suits in Germany, the Netherlands, and Brazil.
Ericsson has filed further lawsuits against Apple in Europe and Brazil, after filing similar claims in the U.S. earlier this week.
Juve Patent reports:
Swedish manufacturer of network technology Ericsson has filed further lawsuits for patent infringement against Apple. So far, the market was only aware of patent and ITC lawsuits of both companies in the US.However, Ericsson has now confirmed to JUVE Patent that the company also filed lawsuits against Apple in Düsseldorf, Mannheim and Munich earlier this week. The party also filed additional lawsuits in the Netherlands and Brazil, with Ericsson accusing Apple of infringing several patents, including 5G patents.
The Düsseldorf cases have confirmed case numbers, however, the Mannheim and Munich cases have not yet been confirmed. Earlier this week Ericsson sued Apple in the U.S. claiming the Cupertino company infringes on mobile tech patents owned by the Swedish outfit pertaining to 2G, 3G, and 4G. This technology, used in all of Apple's best iPhones including the iPhone 13, was licensed to Apple under a deal signed in 2015, however that has since expired.
Not to be outdone, on Thursday Apple filed a complaint against Ericsson with the U.S. International Trade Commission stating that its own patents were being infringed in Ericsonn's mobile base station products, asking the body for a ban on imports.
Juve speculates that Ericsson may yet file more suits in other countries, with no clear sign of a resolution to the dispute at hand. Ericsson doesn't appear to be seeking any kind of ban or import restrictions on Apple products, rather it simply wants a court to grant it a licensing fee. Ericsson had previously asked for a $5/unit licensing fee, which Apple rejected, kicking off the dispute.
In its ITC filing, Apple said it was willing to drop its lawsuit against Ericsson if the Swedish company returned the favor.
