According to a statement released by Ericsson, the Swedish telecoms equipment maker has signed a deal with Apple, the US maker of iPhones, which includes a “cross-license relating to patented cellular standard-essential technologies” and grants to Apple of certain other patent rights. 

 

This settlement, reached during a FRAND trial of the dispute between Ericsson and Apple in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, will effectively end all ongoing patent-related legal disputes between the parties over royalty payments for the use of 5G wireless patents in iPhones across the US, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK and other markets. The two companies have also agreed to strengthen their “technology and business collaboration", including in technology, interoperability and standards development.

 

The companies first sued each other back in 2015 over various patent infringement and licensing disagreements relating to 2G, 3G, and 4G technologies. After settling these lawsuits, a new round of patent infringement lawsuits resumed in October 2021 over 5G patent licensing, where Ericsson sought a ban on iPhone imports and Apple accused Ericsson of “strong-arm tactics” in negotiations for licensing patented communication technology. With this new settlement, Ericsson's forecast for its fourth-quarter revenue from intellectual property rights (including Apple and others) is estimated to be between US$530.3 million and US$578.5 million.