The Apple-Ericsson confrontation continues to heat up. The U.S. International Trade Commission says it will investigate Apple, based on two complaints alleging that Cupertino illegally infringed on Ericsson patents.
Ericsson previously asked the ITC to block Apple products, such as the iPhone, from selling in the United States while the case is being investigated.
Both companies have sued each other this year, with Apple arguing that Ericsson “seeks to exploit its patents to take the value of these cutting-edge Apple innovations” and is engaging in “abusive licensing practices.”
Getting the ITC involved is significant because the commission can move more quickly than district courts, while additionally having the power to block products from entering the United States — a potentially disastrous outcome for Apple, given that the majority of its devices are manufactured overseas. An import ban would have a giant impact on Apple’s sales and would pressure the company into settling, if only so as not to lose out on revenue.
One of Ericsson’s suits with the ITC concerns “Apple iPhones, iPads, and other cellular-enabled products that use the 2G GSM and 4G LTE telecommunications standards.” The other covers “smartphones, tablet computers, digital media players, and smartwatches.”
And all this from a company, Ericsson, that was plain dismissive of the iPhone back when it was announced in 2007.
Source: PC World
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
5 responses to “Apple faces investigation by International Trade Commission”
lol a lot of companies were dismissive of the iPhone and right so. If Apple had not improved, that phone still won’t have sold. ennuf said
What? Your posts lacks logic and fact.
The original iPhone lacked basic features like copy-paste for example. Without some basic features, it’d never have succeeded. The main reason it did (apart form the touch screen), was the App Store
Ah, I see what you’re getting at.
Your dismissive quote is from Sony-Ericsson … not Ericsson. They’re not the same company.