Apple caves, signs new patent licensing deal with Ericsson

posted by Mihai A. / Dec 21, 2015, 6:06 PM

Apple caves, signs new patent licensing deal with Ericsson

Earlier today, Ericsson announced that it has reached a consensus with Apple and that the two companies have signed a patent licensing deal that will allow Apple to continue using Ericsson technology in its mobile products.

Back in February, Ericsson took Apple to court for infringing on no less than 41 of its patents. Apparently, Apple's iPhones and iPad incorporate a lot of Ericsson's patented tech, with a scope ranging from basic communication protocols to user interfaces and power saving techniques.

The two companies previously had a patent licensing deal, but Apple refused to renew its licence when it expired back in January. At the time, Apple said that it's willing to pay fair prices for these standards-essential patents, but insisted that Ericsson is wrongfully asking for royalties based on the total price of the device. This way, said Apple, Ericsson is making money out of cutting-edge Apple innovations.

Apparently, Apple has finally caved. Ericsson representatives did not provide the financial details of this new IP licensing deal, but the company has raised its estimated overall IP rights revenue to $1.52 - 1.64 billion, up from a previous estimate of $1.14 billion. According to Reuters, analysts from ABG Sundal Collier believe, based on Ericsson's new IP revenue estimates, that Apple agreed to hand over about 0.5 percent of all its iPad and iPhone revenue.

Ericsson announced that this new agreement with Apple resolves all pending patent infringement claims between the two companies. The agreement will also extend to upcoming technologies, such as 5G networks.

source: Reuters

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57 Comments

1. submar

Posts: 713; Member since: Sep 19, 2014

So overconfident for Apple, to say they have cutting-edge innovation

posted on Dec 21, 2015, 6:33 PM 5

21. Arch_Fiend

Posts: 3951; Member since: Oct 03, 2015

They Do, Even If We Don't Like It They Do.

posted on Dec 21, 2015, 10:14 PM 1

31. aBoss

Posts: 164; Member since: Sep 15, 2014

The only real innovation was at the start. Soon as steve jobs died its been downhill

posted on Dec 22, 2015, 7:17 AM 2

52. TechieXP1969

Posts: 14967; Member since: Sep 25, 2013

Can you list 5?

posted on Dec 28, 2015, 10:31 AM 0

54. Arch_Fiend

Posts: 3951; Member since: Oct 03, 2015

Siri, App store, Touch id, 3d touch, 64bit Processor, Retina Display, iPod, And iPad. At Least 5 Of Those Are Apple Innovations.

posted on Dec 28, 2015, 11:02 AM 0

56. Sovat_fc

Posts: 224; Member since: Aug 30, 2014

Arch - You are home, go drunk!

posted on Jan 04, 2016, 8:36 PM 2

27. engineer-1701d unregistered

i love how when apple gets caught its always we will only pair fair value yet on the other hand apple takes company for everything. .5% is nothing should be 15% since without them they have no phone of income for the company and it goes under. thats like trying to sell a back and white screen only on an iphone or tablet or no screen at all/

posted on Dec 22, 2015, 2:33 AM 3

39. bubbadoes

Posts: 1225; Member since: May 03, 2012

why not: let's see, the iphone in 2007, every phone maker envy's it's success; the ipod--enough said; mac pc; IPAD--has Samsung coming out with a tablet of some sort every week; macbook series--no other laptop beats it, like it or not!; imac--same results!!; ITUNES---no other company matches it--Samsung, LG, Motorola, HTC, net worth over 700BILLION like it or not. They know what they are doing

posted on Dec 22, 2015, 10:17 AM 1

40. TechieXP1969

Posts: 14967; Member since: Sep 25, 2013

Samsung makes lots of tablets and phones. Not all of them have anythign to do with Appel products You are a frikkin idiot and a troll and you're stupid. What makes it so bad is, you purposely choose to be stupid and ignorant. Samsung makes one phone that competes directly with the iPhone. The Galaxy S. Everything else they made is for specific markets and have nothing to so with Apple. The Galaxy Tab S is the tablet Samsung made to compete specifically against the Apple iPad. The Galaxy Note and Tab options are simply lternative options that again have NOTHING TO SO WITH APPLE. You are a foolish little boy who should STFU talking about Samsung releases new hardware every week to compete against Apple. Samsung has been making several models of phones and tablets based on prices points for different markets and was doing such before Apple even started making phones. You are a fool!!!!!!!!!!!! Its people like you is the reason Apple is even still a household name

posted on Dec 22, 2015, 10:54 AM 2

50. Antney

Posts: 1; Member since: Dec 26, 2015

You have the absolute ignorance and stupidity to spell like you do: "You are a frikkin idiot and a troll and you're stupid. What makes it so bad is, you purposely choose to be stupid and ignorant" but you have the nerve to call others out on things you know nothing about. World class, award winning retardation, that's what you've got.

posted on Dec 26, 2015, 1:14 AM 0

53. TechieXP1969

Posts: 14967; Member since: Sep 25, 2013

If you only argument is misspellings and grammatical errors, then I'm the least of your worries. I get excited typing on a small screen. But again, misspellings isn't an argument though. Come back hen you have an argument. Other than that, I'm obvious right because you only commented on what you found wrong. Obviously it wasn't what I said.

posted on Dec 28, 2015, 10:35 AM 1

41. TechieXP1969

Posts: 14967; Member since: Sep 25, 2013

Every OEM has products that beat Apple's offerings. Apple has sold 130M+ macs in its whole lifetime, while Dell has sold 5 times as many Dell XPS laptops which have similar pricing but pffer better specs in most cases. Even HP's Envy and DV series both outsells macs by millions. The iPhone vs the Galaxy S is a joke and it costs more for a crap option at that. No laptop beats it. Really? beats in in what? I paid $2100 for my HP Envy. The Mac does even come close to its features. I have a 256GB SSD and 1TB SSD with 16GB of RAM and its i7(8 cores), 1080p display stereo speakers with dual subwoofer/beats Audio and it has BluRay, Wireless Display features, BT and so much more. Show me a mac with that and how does it beat? The latest Surface Pro beats the Air and the entry level MacBook my longshots. Apple products are not better, they just cost more when they break. Apple makes very good products that have help them gain some status. That is about as far as it goes. Just saying they are outright the best and nothing beats them is a personal preference that is based on fanboism and not pure facts. The present iPhone can't even beat the S6 models in what matters. The Mac can't beat any equally spec'd Windows PC in anything. The ipod is all but dead as sales have dropped every single year for the past 5 years straight and continues to drop which is why the iPod Touch itself, rarely even gets an upgrade and when it does, it just using 2 year old hardware which they still try to charge an arm and a leg for. You're a fan just admit it and STFU.

posted on Dec 22, 2015, 11:02 AM 2

2. Tziggy14

Posts: 624; Member since: Sep 02, 2014

Free money. lol

posted on Dec 21, 2015, 6:33 PM 0

3. darkkjedii

Posts: 30959; Member since: Feb 05, 2011

Pay the money, so we can buy nice products. It's all good.

posted on Dec 21, 2015, 6:43 PM 3

6. belovedson

Posts: 1060; Member since: Nov 30, 2010

so basically what your saying is. its ok apple, you used other companies patents without legal authorization pay them off and continue breaking patent agreements? yet in the same token how does apple not allow other companies from doing the same. Ericsson is just one of the many companies apple infringed in the last two year.s

posted on Dec 21, 2015, 7:33 PM 9

11. darkkjedii

Posts: 30959; Member since: Feb 05, 2011

No! Basically what I'm saying is...pay the money, so we can buy nice products. I don't give a rats ass who Apple infringed on. Apple, the company they infringed on, and the court can deal with that. The jedii approves this message.

posted on Dec 21, 2015, 8:21 PM 5

12. NoToFanboys

Posts: 3231; Member since: Oct 03, 2015

Nice to see, non angry posts here jedii. Last time I posted a fact they automatically labeled me as a fanboy LOL.

posted on Dec 21, 2015, 8:30 PM 0

16. darkkjedii

Posts: 30959; Member since: Feb 05, 2011

People get too caught up in stuff they can't controll. By the time we the consumer find out about who infringed on what, we've already bought, setup, and are enjoying our devices. Why should I care about two billion dollar companies duking it out, when we the consumer will benefit? I'm a working man, not a tech CEO, just give me a good product at a good price, and I'm good. I swear, some of these post are strictly for green thumbs.

posted on Dec 21, 2015, 9:07 PM 3

20. VZWuser76

Posts: 4974; Member since: Mar 04, 2010

I agree with you to an extent that it shouldn't effect us, but it does. Not just in that a product we bought could lose functionality due to these patent wars, but also that our taxes pay for these courts that hear these lawsuits and for the patent office employees that approve the patents themselves. As I said below, make all patents go for a single flat rate and be done with them. And that would be the same amount whether it's FRAND or not. There will still be suits about whether they infringe or not, but there wouldn't be the back and forth negotiations like they had in the Apple/Samsung suit about trying to find an amount both sides could live with. If you infringe, you pay this amount, end of story.

posted on Dec 21, 2015, 10:08 PM 0

29. darkkjedii

Posts: 30959; Member since: Feb 05, 2011

I can respect that, you always make a lotta sense. +1

posted on Dec 22, 2015, 5:03 AM 1

38. VZWuser76

Posts: 4974; Member since: Mar 04, 2010

Right back at ya.

posted on Dec 22, 2015, 10:08 AM 1

24. Diezparda

Posts: 941; Member since: Oct 23, 2013

You are an admirable man darkk, it's nice to see a reasonable comment these day at PA.

posted on Dec 22, 2015, 12:37 AM 1

28. darkkjedii

Posts: 30959; Member since: Feb 05, 2011

Thanx bro, just being honest. To me, and most consumers, it's just not a big deal. All these patents cases, and we still get to come here and debate, and enjoy our tech. Let the CEO's deal with it.

posted on Dec 22, 2015, 5:02 AM 1

42. TechieXP1969

Posts: 14967; Member since: Sep 25, 2013

"some of these post are strictly for green thumbs" Including your own?!

posted on Dec 22, 2015, 11:04 AM 0

4. cripton805

Posts: 1485; Member since: Mar 18, 2012

It's ok when Apple does it right?

posted on Dec 21, 2015, 6:45 PM 2

5. tedkord

Posts: 17289; Member since: Jun 17, 2009

And yet they still haven't paid a dime to Samsung for the standards essential patents they not only infringed, but engaged in a reverse holdup over.

posted on Dec 21, 2015, 7:23 PM 11

9. Planterz

Posts: 2120; Member since: Apr 30, 2012

But Samsung already owes Apple a ton of money, don't they? Maybe they're just deducting what Apple owes Samsung from that sum. I don't know...all this suing and litigation stuff confuses me.

posted on Dec 21, 2015, 8:00 PM 1

32. tedkord

Posts: 17289; Member since: Jun 17, 2009

That's not how it works. They haven't even agreed on a price. Apple just used the IP, then entered into bad faith negotiations to set a price.

posted on Dec 22, 2015, 7:27 AM 0

13. xondk

Posts: 1904; Member since: Mar 25, 2014

Last I checked they are paying, but I can understand things not going fast when one of the main patents that won Apple the whole deal was the infamous "rectangular shape rounded corners" patent...