Apple, Ericsson Spar over LTE Patents

IEEE-SA may change the game

John Walko, Technology Writer, EE Times
2/13/2015 01:00 PM EST

Apple and Ericsson spar over LTE patents......as IEEE threatens new rules over wireless IP royalties.

What, exactly, is "Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory" in the world of patents related to semiconductors and consumer electronics?

That debate has raged for decades, notably in the wide-ranging wireless sector, bringing many a fruitful pay day to patent lawyers and exasperating some of the best judges as they grapple with issues such as open sourcing and patent pooling.

The latest high profile spat that will have to rule on the matter pits those sometime FRANDs and FOEs, Ericsson and Apple, who last month started counter-suing each other in different US courts, having failed over the past two years to settle their dispute over the size of royalties Apple should be paying for Ericsson-owned intellectual property rights (IPR) related to LTE standards.

The dispute is likely to be a long, drawn-out affair, as these usually are.

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