Apple is being sued by Ericsson for continuing to use the Swedish company’s 5G patents in iPhones after a license agreement expired. Ericsson has since filed two lawsuits involving a total of 12 separate patents. The lawsuits come after lengthy negotiations with Apple failed to end before the company’s previous licensing agreement expired.
The lawsuits were filed in the Western District of Texas, as well as in at least one unknown jurisdiction outside the United States, IAM reported. Apple first licensed Ericsson’s 2G and 3G essential patents when it released the first iPhone in 2008, both lawsuits said. In 2015, Apple and Ericsson executed another global cross-license covering both parties’ patents related to 2G, 3G and 4G mobile phone standards.
On the expiry of these licenses, Apple no longer licenses Ericsson’s essential patents. The cases cannot be brought before the license expires, but they are not the first time Apple or Ericsson have gone to court. In October 2021, Ericsson filed an early lawsuit to prevent Apple from filing a blitz lawsuit that sought to devalue the patents by determining that they were not essential.
Subsequently, Apple sued Ericsson separately in December 2021, claiming the company used tough tactics in patent negotiations. The legal dealings are similar to a series of lawsuits the two companies endured in 2015 when the lawsuits were settled through a new patent licensing agreement, and as that agreement expires, a new round of battle is set to begin.