Apple and Ericsson have accused each other of patent infringement and licensing disagreements regarding connectivity technologies since 2015. The companies sued each other regarding 2G, 3G, and 4G techs.
Then, at the end of last year, they resumed the battle over patent licensing regarding 5G technology. At that time, Ericsson even wanted to ban iPhone imports, while Apple accused it of “strong-arm tactics” in negotiations for licensing patented communication technology.
Today, both companies have reached a patent license agreement and “mutually agreed to strengthen their technology and business collaboration.”
“We are pleased to settle the litigations with Apple with this agreement, which is of strategic importance to our 5G licensing program. This will allow both companies to continue to focus on bringing the best technology to the global market,” said Christina Petersson, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Ericsson.
This press release shared by Ericsson says that both companies have reached a “multi-year, global patent license agreement between the two companies. The agreement includes a cross-license relating to patented cellular standard-essential technologies and grants certain other patent rights.”
Furthermore, Ericsson and Apple have mutually agreed to strengthen their technology and business collaboration, including in technology, interoperability and standards development.
This settlement ends the lawsuits filed by both companies in several countries, including in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Texas, as well as the complaints filed before the United States International Trade Commission (USITC).
With this agreement, at least for now, we won’t hear from both companies’ complaints regarding connectivity patent infringements. BGR will report back once we learn more about this story or whether Apple shares any statement.
