Ericsson fired another salvo in what is increasingly becoming a tit-for-tat 5G patent war with Apple, reportedly filing a pair of fresh claims covering a string of IP.
The vendor lodged two cases with a US district court, with four patents covered in one and eight in the other, Foss Patents reported citing news service IAM.
Ericsson’s move is the latest in a spat which resulted in each company taking legal action in the US during 2021, as negotiations over the renewal of a seven-year licensing contract for telecom patents that was first struck in 2015 failed.
Apple’s previous deal covered 2G, 3G and 4G, but the companies have so far been unable to reach a new agreement which also covers 5G.
Ericsson told Reuters Apple is now using its technology without a licence “since the prior agreement has expired”.
Foss Patents noted Apple “will predictably retaliate”, but also noted “Apple’s exposure to patent assertions dwarfs Ericsson’s”.
