Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Tuesday January 25 2022, @11:15AM   Printer-friendly

Apple fires back in Ericsson 5G legal battle:

Apple has countersued Ericsson and is seeking an important ban on the import of the Swedish telecoms equipment manufacturer's base stations into the US as part of a long-running legal dispute over the use of 5G patents.

The two companies previously signed a seven-year licensing agreement for the use of Ericsson's Standards Essential Patents (SEPs) in Apple's products such as the iPhone but have been in the courts ever since negotiations about an extension broke down.

SEPs are innovations that have been contributed to industry standards, such as 5G, and can be used by anyone else provided they pay a fair price for the privilege. These rates are known as fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

In effect, this means anyone that uses an SEP in their product pays a royalty to the owner of the patent – typically a few dollars per device.

Ericsson wants Apple to pay what it believes to be a fair rate for its SEPs, while Apple considers these demands to be excessive and believes payment should be calculated according to the value of components that uses the technology – not the overall value of the device.

Given Apple typically sells its handsets [at] a premium, this could save it a significant amount of money.

Ericsson filed [its] lawsuit back in October, accusing Apple of attempting to avoid paying reasonable fees. Apple filed a countersuit in December accusing the Swedish telecoms equipment manufacturer of "strong-arm tactics".


Original Submission

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
(1)
  • (Score: 5, Touché) by looorg on Tuesday January 25 2022, @12:18PM (3 children)

    by looorg (578) on Tuesday January 25 2022, @12:18PM (#1215554)

    I guess it could have been interesting to know how much Ericsson wanted from Apple per device in royalty fees, as far as I can tell it's not mentioned in either article but instead just a reference to what Nokia and Huawei charge for their patents and that they have a cap. It's not mentioned if Ericsson have a cap or not. I guess they might not then since the Apple is so upset or perhaps they are asking a % which then makes them mad since they believe they make "premium" devices even if there is nothing premium about the content or the components inside the device. Or it's just something ridiculous and we are talking cents here or there, but I guess if you make millions of devices that ads up.

    That said these companies seem to be suing each other left and right just cause it's that day of the week and they need some kind of future bargaining chip in negotiations or they want to make life just a little bit harder for the competition. It seems they also swap fees with each other so they want their imaginary fee to be as large as possible or at least large enough so it can be swapped/cancelled with what they owe to other party. I guess that isn't a thing here, Ericsson probably doesn't use a lot of Apple patents. That said there shouldn't be any real competition here anymore. Non of the other phone makers, that should use the same patents, appear to be complaining -- or they are just waiting for the outcome and for Apple to take the bill of the legal fight. Ericsson doesn't really make phones anymore as far as I recall and Apple doesn't make network hardware. That said I guess one is more dependent on the other then the other way around.

    I do wonder why they are suing each other in Texas. As far as I know Apple isn't incorporated in Texas and neither is Ericsson. Did they find some kind of corporate hangin' judge there or what?

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 25 2022, @02:44PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 25 2022, @02:44PM (#1215575)

      Texas has a district that is very favorable to patent holders, even of the non-creating troll variety.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 25 2022, @07:50PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 25 2022, @07:50PM (#1215661)

        How is it off-topic when it answers the question of the parent? Literally.

    • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 25 2022, @05:17PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 25 2022, @05:17PM (#1215615)

      +5 Informative?? This long winded post might qualify as Insightful or Interesting, but hardly Informative.

  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 25 2022, @03:45PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 25 2022, @03:45PM (#1215591)

    You ever wonder why these Jew-run companies are always talking about environmental friendliness, even as they rape the Earth for Lithium to build irreparable gadgets and push forced obsolescence? That's all before the spyware and cancer and cataracts that will result from millimeter-wave 5G exposure.

    " Stop noticing things Goy...hey, look over there! Don't you want to go celebrate our corporate company fag-day with all of the angry unpassable trannies? Rainbow flag! The theme of this year's fag-day is BLM and climate change! What Uyghurs?"

  • (Score: 2) by mcgrew on Tuesday January 25 2022, @05:01PM (1 child)

    by mcgrew (701) <publish@mcgrewbooks.com> on Tuesday January 25 2022, @05:01PM (#1215606) Homepage Journal

    I should have read TFB before I read TFA. Hell of a time getting past all the nonsensical bullshit to the actual article, and it's about patent fights. Not interested in billionaire companies' court battles with each other.

    My God but TechRadar has gotten slimy! Next time you post something from them, please warn me to turn on adblock. Or any other slimy site. Ten minutes of clicking through ads for three paragraphs before more ads. Nobody else is covering this lame story?

    --
    mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Freeman on Tuesday January 25 2022, @10:16PM

      by Freeman (732) on Tuesday January 25 2022, @10:16PM (#1215694) Journal

      uBlock Origins is on by default. The internet is a very scary place, otherwise.

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
  • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday January 25 2022, @06:01PM (1 child)

    by Freeman (732) on Tuesday January 25 2022, @06:01PM (#1215630) Journal

    Sure, it may not be quite so entertaining as some lawsuits, but I've got a nice soundtrack to go with.

    "I don't want to set the world on fire" (Search on Youtube) or use this handy link: https://youtu.be/pLvsmho1lGA [youtu.be]

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
    • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Tuesday January 25 2022, @08:29PM

      by krishnoid (1156) on Tuesday January 25 2022, @08:29PM (#1215672)

      And after that, if you want something about love and not lawsuits ru(i)ning the world, you can listen to Jane Wiedlin's version of World on Fire [youtu.be].

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 25 2022, @06:48PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 25 2022, @06:48PM (#1215649)

    What's good for the goose

(1)