Ericsson and Samsung ink deal to end global patent dispute
Ericsson and Samsung have signed a multi-year agreement on global patent licences between the two companies, ending a legal battle that hit the Swedish firm’s first-quarter revenue.
In a statement this morning Ericsson said the cross-licence agreement covers sale of network infrastructure and handsets from the beginning of this year.
The two tech firms have also agreed to cooperate on projects to advance the mobile industry in open standardisation “create valuable solutions for consumers and enterprises”.
The deal ends complaints filed by both companies before the US International Trade Commission as well as ongoing lawsuits in several countries. In December Ericsson filed a lawsuit against Samsung in the US over royalty payments.
The companies said the details of the agreement were confidential and would not be disclosed.
Ericsson’s patent licence revenue dropped to 800,000 Swedish krona (£684,000) in the first quarter, down from 2.5bn krona the previous year.
The Swedish telecoms firm said its licensing revenue continues to be affected by several factors, including expired patent licensing agreements, geopolitical impact on the handset market, the shift to 5G and possible currency effects.
It forecast patent revenue to rise to between 2bn and 2.5bn krona in the second quarter thanks to the agreement.
Ericsson controls more than 57,000 granted patents and is hooping to boost its revenue from patents through the development of 5G.