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 The iPhone maker said it has not infringed on the patents and does
not owe royalties for them.
Apple says that the mobile telecoms gear maker is seeking royalties
for the LTE technology calculated as a percentage of the price of
the entire smartphone or tablet.
The royalties should be based on the value of the processor chip
that includes the technology, Apple said in the lawsuit filed in a
federal court in California.
If Ericsson's patents are deemed essential and the court rules Apple
has infringed on them, Apple said it wants the court to assign a
reasonable royalty rate.
"We've always been willing to pay a fair price to secure the rights
to standards essential patents covering technology in our products.
Unfortunately, we have not been able to agree with Ericsson on a
fair rate for their patents so, as a last resort, we are asking the
courts for help," said Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet.
Apple and Ericsson currently have a license agreement that covers
many of Ericsson's allegedly standard-essential patents. The
agreement was signed in 2008 soon after Apple launched the iPhone,
according to the court filing.
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Representatives at Ericsson were not immediately available for
comment outside regular business hours.
The case is in the U.S. District Court of Northern District of
California, Apple Inc v. Ericsson, case no: CV-15-0154.
(Reporting by Supriya Kurane in Bengaluru and Dan Levine in San
Francisco; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
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