New patent dispute – A war has erupted between Ericsson and Apple over the two giants’ patents. The Swedish company has filed lawsuits against Apple in three different countries, claiming that the tech giant continues to use patents without having the necessary legal licenses.
Ericsson says it had offered to hold talks with the court to resolve the matter, but the deadline has now passed. The lawsuits were filed in the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands.
As reported by the British news network BBC, Apple has not made any announcement or comment on the matter so far.
“Our technologies are used in many features and functions of today’s communication devices,” said Qasim Alfalahy, head of intellectual property at Ericsson. He added that the dispute has been going on for two years, and said he was “optimistic” that the courts would help reach a “fair” decision.
The case concerns Ericsson technologies designed for second- and fourth-generation mobile devices. These patents relate to video playback on mobile devices, as well as chip design. Ericsson holds the rights to at least 35,000 patents related to mobile technology.
In February, Ericsson filed a lawsuit against the company in the US, in response to complaints filed by Appellee regarding the complexity of technology patents.
In 2014, mobile device manufacturer Samsung was forced to pay Ericsson 570 million euros to end a dispute that again involved technological patents.
According to analysts' estimates, if the court rulings are made in Ericsson's favor, then Apple will be forced to pay the Swedish company.
Source: newsbeast.gr
