Short Bytes: iPhone maker Apple and telecom company Ericsson have ended their year-long patent dispute. The new agreement dictates that Apple will be paying an undisclosed amount of money to Ericsson as a part of the ongoing iPhone and iPad sales. “A settlement outside of a court was definitely our preferred way,” said Ericsson.
In a statement, Ericsson has said that it’ll be paid an undisclosed one-time amount of money by Apple along with the ongoing patent royalties. The Swedish company also mentioned that its patent-income will rise between $470-$590 million this year. This positive news for Ericsson’s business was reflected in company stocks that rose up to 8 percent.
During its filing in a US district court, Ericsson said that Apple’s license to use their technology has expired and the ongoing negotiations didn’t result in some concrete outcome. Ericsson’s global patent license agreement with Apple began with first iPhone launch in 2007 and expired in early 2015.
Also read: Ericsson Researchers Achieve 5G Speeds Exceeding 10Gbps
Later, an Apple spokeswoman said that it’s willing to pay Ericsson a ‘fair price’ to secure rights of the patents.
Ericsson is the world’s largest wireless technology maker and this dispute highlights Apple’s complex relationships in the telecom industry. While the Ericsson’s deal with Apple marked the end of one of the biggest legal battles in mobile technology, iPhone maker is still fighting its most high-profile patent dispute with Samsung.
“A settlement outside of a court was definitely our preferred way,” said Kasim Alfalahi, Ericsson’s chief intellectual property officer.
Notably, Ericsson is one of the world’s biggest patent holders with about 37,000 patents in different countries.
Have something to add to this story? Add your views in the comments below.
Also read: How Google’s New Patent is Perfect Solution To Prevent Phones from Dropping
