Swedish
telecom equipment maker Ericsson has filed lawsuits in Germany, Britain
and the Netherlands against Apple over technology licence payments,
Ericsson said on Friday, extending a U.S. battle between the firms to
Europe.
Ericsson
said it had offered to enter into arbitration with Apple to reach a
global licensing agreement for its patents, but that offer had now
expired. “Apple continues to profit from Ericsson’s technology without
having a valid licence in place,” said Kasim Alfalahi, Chief
Intellectual Property Officer at Ericsson.
“Our
technology is used in many features and functionality of today’s
communication devices. We are confident the courts in Germany, the UK
and the Netherlands will be able to help us resolve this matter in a
fair manner,” he added.
An
Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the legal action in the three
European countries, which relates to 2G and 4G/LTE mobile communications
standards and non-standardized technology, but referred to its
statement in January.
“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,” part
of that statement said.
Ericsson
had already filed a complaint in mid-January in the United States
against Apple, responding to a lawsuit from the iPhone maker.
Last
year, smartphone maker Samsung Electronics Co agreed to pay Ericsson
$650 million along with years of royalties to end a licence dispute.
If
the dispute with Apple also went Ericsson’s way, the U.S. firm would
have to pay it between 2-6 billion Swedish crowns ($240-725 million)
annually, analysts said, based on estimates of levels of handset sales
and royalty payments per phone.
Posted by : Gizmeon
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