Apple Sued by Ericsson Again Over 5G Patent Licensing for iPhone

Ericsson sued first in October, claiming that Apple was trying to improperly cut down the royalty rates.

Advertisement
By Reuters | Updated: 19 January 2022 11:25 IST
Highlights
  • Ericsson invests about $5 billion (roughly Rs. 37,310 crore) a year
  • Last year Ericsson settled patent lawsuits with Samsung
  • Pending dues are usually cleared after a settlement is reached

Ericsson said that Apple is now using their technology without a licence

Sweden's Ericsson has filed another set of patent infringement lawsuits against Apple in the latest salvo between the two companies over royalty payment for use of 5G wireless patents in iPhones.

Both companies have already sued each other in the United States as negotiations failed over the renewal of a seven-year licensing contract for telecoms patents first struck in 2015.

Ericsson sued first in October, claiming that Apple was trying to improperly cut down the royalty rates. The iPhone maker then filed a lawsuit in December accusing the Swedish company of using "strong-arm tactics" to renew patents.

Advertisement

"Ericsson has refused to negotiate fair terms for renewing our patent licensing agreement, and instead has been suing Apple around the world to extort excessive royalties ... we are asking the court to help determine a fair price," an Apple spokesman said on Tuesday.

Advertisement

Patent lawsuits are quite common among technology companies because every dollar saved could amount to significant amounts over the duration of the agreement, with companies such as Ericsson charging $2.50 (roughly Rs. 190) to $5 (roughly Rs. 370) for every 5G handset.

"Since the prior agreement has expired, and we have been unable to reach agreement on the terms and scope of a new licence, Apple is now using our technology without a licence," an Ericsson spokesman said.

Advertisement

The Swedish company invests about $5 billion (roughly Rs. 37,310 crore) a year in research, has a portfolio of more than 57,000 patents and royalties from its patent portfolio account for roughly a third of its operating profit.

Last year Ericsson settled patent lawsuits with Samsung after several months of court battles that temporarily hit its quarterly earnings. Pending dues are usually cleared after a settlement is reached.

Advertisement

© Thomson Reuters 2022


Why are Galaxy S21 FE and OnePlus 9RT launching now? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Ericsson, Apple, iPhone
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. OnePlus 15 Price Leaked; Could Be Cheaper Than its Predecessor at Launch
  2. OnePlus 15: Everything We Know Ahead of Its October 27 Launch in China
  3. Apple's M5-Powered MacBook Pro 14-inch, iPad Pro Now Available in India
  4. OnePlus 15 Camera Details Revealed Ahead of October 27 Launch
  5. JioSaavn Announces 'Limited-Time' Annual Plan: Price, Benefits
  6. Redmi K90, Redmi K90 Pro Max Launch Today: All You Need to Know
  7. Oppo Reno 15 Pro Max Could Launch Soon With These Camera, Display Features
  8. OnePlus Ace 6 Visits Geekbench With This Snapdragon Chipset and 16GB of RAM
  9. Redmi K90 Design, Key Features Revealed Ahead of October 23 Launch
  1. Apple Working On iOS Framework That Simplifies One-Time App Data Transfers From iPhone to Android
  2. Tether User Base Crosses 500 Million Mark as Stablecoin Supply Nears $182 Billion
  3. Google's Gemini AI Assistant Could Soon Add a Mic Lock Option for Longer Voice Commands: Report
  4. CERT-In Warns Google Chrome Users of High-Severity Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  5. iPhone Air Production Reportedly Cut Due to Weak Demand as Apple Increases Orders for Other iPhone 17 Models
  6. Samsung Galaxy S26 Series to Launch With Existing Naming Scheme Used for Galaxy S25 Lineup, Tipster Claims
  7. WhatsApp's Upcoming 'Mention All' Feature for Groups Is Now Available to Beta Testers on Android
  8. Perplexity’s Comet AI Browser Is Vulnerable to Prompt Injections, Says Brave
  9. Kadena Ceases Operations, Says Blockchain Will Run After Foundation Shuts
  10. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora's Free Update With Third-Person Mode, New Game+ Arrives December 5
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.