Ericsson sued Apple for telecom patent infringement

Ericsson on 26 February 2015 sued Apple for telecom patent infringement. Ericsson filed two complaints with the International Trade Commission (ITC) and seven complaints in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Apple.

Ericsson asserts that many aspects of Apple’s iPhones and iPads infringe upon 41 patents which are in its name.

The patents include standard essential patents related to the 2G and 4G/LTE standards as well as other patents that are critical to features and functionality of Apple devices such as the design of semiconductor components, user interface software, location services and applications, as well as the iOS operating system.

Ericsson accused Apple that they are using the technology without a license. Ericsson claimed that the technology was invented by them and therefore they are seeking help from the court and the ITC.

Apple's global license agreement for Ericsson's mobile technology expired in January 2015, and Apple has declined to take a new license offered on FRAND terms.