Asia IP

Swedish telecom equipment supplier Ericsson AB announced two complaints and filed seven lawsuits relating to its patents againt Apple.Inc over "critical functions" in its devicese. The lawsuits concern patents that are relating to 2Q and 4G long-term evolution standards and features that Ericsson said are critical to the functionality of Apple devices. 

Also, Ericsson has asked the trade commission to block Apple products in the US market. 

Ericsson said Apple had declined a licensing deal and refused an offer to have a court determine fair licensing terms by which both companies would be bound.

“Our last offer was to have this determination either in [a federal court in] Texas or in a court selected by Apple in California. They declined,” said Gustav Brismark, head of patent strategy at Ericsson.

However, Apple characterized the royalties Ericsson has been asking for as “excessive” in a federal court filing linked to its dispute.

A spokesman for Apple referred to the company’s statement in January. “We’ve always been willing to pay a fair price to secure the rights to standards essential patents covering technology in our products. Unfortunately, we have not been able to agree with Ericsson on a fair rate for their patents so, as a last resort, we are asking the courts for help,” Apple said in a statement.