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Ericsson said Apple's licence to use technology
developed by the Swedish company and used in many smartphones
and tablet computers had expired and that two years of
negotiations had not led to a new deal.
Kasim Alfalahi, chief intellectual property officer at Ericsson,
said the licence had run out "very recently".
"We have been trying to negotiate a new agreement. We came to
the conclusion we needed the help of a third party," Alfalahi
said.
Ericsson wants the court to determine whether its licence offer
is on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.
Apple filed a suit on Jan. 12 alleging that Ericsson's LTE
wireless technology patents are not essential to industry
cellular standards and that the Swedish company is demanding
excessive royalties for the patents.
Early last year Apple rival Samsung Electronics Co agreed to pay
Ericsson $650 million along with years of royalties to end a
technology licence dispute.
Ericsson said its 2014 fourth quarter IPR revenues would include
payments from Apple under the previous agreement.
Ericsson had revenues from intellectual property rights of 10.6
billion crowns ($1.31 billion) in 2013. It has more than 100
agreements including ones with most major players in the
industry.
Ericsson filed its complaint in Texas, while Apple filed its
lawsuit in California, in the United States.
($1 = 8.0747 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Olof Swahnberg; editing by Terje Solsvik and Jason
Neely)
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