After a muti-year argument, Apple and Ericsson agreed to cross license each others patents on cellular standard-essential technologies. And they’ll drop their lawsuits, too.
What’s really happening though is that the two companies have negotiated how much money Apple will pay to license Ericsson patents for use in the iPhone.
iPhone uses cellular-wireless tech patented by Ericsson
Ericsson helped develop some of the basic technologies for cellular-wireless technology, and holds many patents that are still relevant today, decades later.
Apple is willing to pay royalties on these, but the two companies keep butting heads over how much. Negotiations in 2021 descended to the point Ericsson tried to take Apple to court over how much it owes on the patents.
That’s all been settled now, though. The companies did not disclose how much Apple will have to pay.
Christina Petersson, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Ericsson said in a statement, “We are pleased to settle the litigations with Apple with this agreement, which is of strategic importance to our 5G licensing program. This will allow both companies to continue to focus on bringing the best technology to the global market.”
In the past, the European company has played hardball. In a 2015 patent dispute, Ericsson asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to block the iPhone from being sold in the United States.
