Smartphone giants Ericsson and Apple have signed a multi-year, global patent license agreement that ends the lawsuits filed by both companies.
The deal includes a cross-license relating to patented cellular standard-essential technologies and grants other patent rights. The companies have also mutually agreed to strengthen the technology and business collaboration through technology and standards development.
The lawsuits will end in several countries including the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Texas as well as the complaints filed before the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC).
Ericsson said its licensing revenues are affected by several factors including expired patent license agreements pending renewal, the shift from 4G to 5G, currency effects and geopolitical impact. With the agreement with Apple, Ericsson said it will be better positioned for revenues from these licenses.
“We are pleased to settle the litigations with Apple with this agreement, which is of strategic importance to our 5G licensing program,” said Christina Petersson, chief intellectual property officer at Ericsson. “This will allow both companies to continue to focus on bringing the best technology to the global market.”
