Another set of patent infringement lawsuits against Apple was filled by Sweden's Ericsson in the latest back-and-forth battle between the two companies over royalty payment for use of 5G wireless patents in iPhones.
The failed negotiations over the renewal of a seven-year licensing contract for telecom patents first happened in 2015, which led both companies to sue each other in the United States.
Ericsson vs Apple
Yahoo Finance reported that Apple filed a lawsuit against Ericsson in December 2021, accusing Ericsson of using strong-arm tactics against them to renew patents.
The move was after the Swedish company sued first in October of the same year, stating that Apple was trying to improperly cut down the royalty rates.
A spokesperson from Ericsson stated that since the previous agreement has ended and the company has been unable to agree on the terms and scope of a new license, Apple is currently utilizing their technology without their consent.
Apple Lawsuit
Apple has retaliated against Ericsson in a long-running battle over patent licensing fees for "essential" mobile telecoms technologies.
The iPhone maker accused the counter company of breaching its duties to license patents fundamental to industry standards at decent prices and making unreasonable demands, according to the filed complaint in a federal court in Texas, as reported by 9To5Mac.
For years, Apple and Ericsson have been involved in legal battles.
Apple and Ericsson sued each other in 2015 while negotiating this licensing agreement.
As a result of this, Ericsson attempted to have the iPhone barred from sale in the United States due to a patent dispute.
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Patent Lawsuits
Apple negotiating a lower price could make sense on their end since every dollar saved may add up quickly over the course of a contract, especially because companies like Ericsson charge them between $2.5 and $5 for each 5G device.
However, patent disputes are not a strange thing in the industry; in fact, it is prevalent among technology businesses.
Ericsson has a portfolio of more than 57,000 patents, and royalties from its patent portfolio account for roughly a third of its operating profit.
With that, the Swedish company invests about $5 billion every year in research.
Ericsson Might Win The Lawsuit
Furthermore, the Swedish company seems to be positive about negotiation with Apple.
Ericsson is willing to continue to provide Apple its previously disclosed 5G multimode pricing of $5 per phone with a $1 early signing discount a rate, which they will continue to uphold, assuming they execute a license relatively fast, according to a recent Ericsson filing.
Apple estimates it now has a share of declared 5G patent families similar to Ericsson's following its acquisition of Intel's smartphone modem business.
As a result, the tech giant believes that its net payments to Ericsson will be lower than they were in 2015.
As stated by MacRumors, according to Florian Mueller, the founder of the Foss Patents website and an intellectual property expert, despite its situation, Apple seems to be losing the struggle and that Ericsson has the upper hand.
The reason behind Ericsson's upper hand is due to the terms it reached with Samsung for the use of its 5G patents.
He argues that the aggregate conditions suggest that Ericsson will win this battle, and Apple's only leverage is 'hold-out'.
Mueller added that Ericsson can argue that even Samsung agreed to pay a royalty rate consistent with Apple's demand of $5 per iPhone.
The Ericsson-Samsung license arrangement includes a little lower royalty rate on those Samsung phones that cost a fraction of an iPhone.
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