ITC to look into Ericsson vs. Apple patent infringement
The Ericsson vs. Apple battle escalated again with the agreement by the U.S. International Trade Commission to investigate Ericsson’s claims that the iPhone maker infringed on its LTE technology patents.
The companies have been at odds since the beginning of the year when a license agreement that allowed Apple to use Ericsson’s LTE high-speed wireless technology in their smartphones and other devices expired.
In January, Apple threw the first punch claiming that Ericsson’s asking price for the technology was unreasonable because the patents aren’t essential to the LTE technology. Two days later, Ericsson filed a countersuit claiming the price was fair and that Apple infringed on their patents.
In the lawsuit, Ericsson claimed infringement on two patents. The first involves Apple’s use of 2G GSM and 4G LTE standards in their iPhone, iPads and other cellular products. The other covers technology that includes Apple’s smartwatches, tablets and digital media players, as well as smartphones.
In February, Ericsson chief intellectual property officer, Kasim Alfalahi said, “Features that consumers now take for granted – like being able to livestream television shows or access their favorite apps from their phones – rely on the technology we have developed. Apple currently uses our technology without a license and therefore we are seeking help from the court and the ITC.”
The ITC chose to pursue the investigation because it believes “the products at issue in the investigation are certain wireless standard compliant devices.”
This is a battle that is not expected to end in a knockout anytime soon. Suits such as these often take years to play out in court.
This investigation is not an indication of infringement.
