Ondrej Holzman Apple has agreed with Ericsson on a long-term mutual licensing of patents related to the LTE and GSM technologies used by the iPhone manufacturer. Thanks to this, the Swedish telecommunications giant will receive part of its earnings from iPhones and iPads.
Although Ericsson did not announce how much it will collect during the seven-year cooperation, however, it is speculated about 0,5 percent of the revenues from iPhones and iPads. The latest agreement ends the long-standing dispute between Apple and Ericsson, which has been going on for several years.
The license agreement covers several areas. For Apple, the patents related to LTE technology (as well as GSM or UMTS), which Ericsson owns, are key, but at the same time, the two companies have agreed on the development of the 5G network and further cooperation in network matters.
The seven-year deal ends all disputes in both US and European courts, as well as the US International Trade Commission (ITC), and ends a dispute that began this January when the previous agreement in 2008 expired.
After the end of the original contract, Apple decided to sue Ericsson in January of this year, claiming that its license fees were too high. However, just a few hours later, the Swedes filed a counterclaim and demanded 250 to 750 million dollars annually from Apple for using its patented wireless technologies. The California firm refused to comply, so Ericsson sued it again in February.
In the second lawsuit, Apple was accused of infringing 41 patents related to wireless technologies that are essential to the functioning of iPhones and iPads. At the same time, Ericsson tried to ban the sale of these products, which the ITC decided to investigate, and subsequently extended the lawsuit to Europe as well.
In the end, Apple decided it would be better to renegotiate with the world's largest supplier of mobile network equipment, as it did in 2008, preferring to team up with Ericsson to develop a fifth-generation network.
