Ericsson wants 5G patent fees to hit the wall and Apple's $5 refuses to tear the face of both sides

Operator Finance Kang Zhao/Wen

On January 18, foreign media reported that Ericsson had filed two lawsuits in the West Side of Texas, united States, involving a total of 12 independent patents, accusing Apple of patent infringement, but Apple has no intention of giving it so far.

Ericsson's asking price is not high. According to a recent document filed by Ericsson, this is the rate it still wants to charge: "Ericsson is willing to continue to offer Apple our publicly announced 5G patent fees, $5 per phone ($1 discount on early signing), and we will continue to offer that rate." Assuming we execute licenses relatively quickly, we will feel privileged. ”

Apple didn't take it seriously. Since acquiring Intel's smartphone modem business, Apple believes it now has a share of filed 5G patents that it now has is comparable to Ericsson's share. As a result, Apple believes it should pay fewer royalties to Ericsson than it paid in 2015.

Last October, an Ericsson spokesperson told Reuters: "Since the previous agreement has expired and we were unable to agree on the terms and scope of the new license, Apple is now using our technology without a license." To put it bluntly, Apple wants to reduce the patent fee and is not willing to pay the 5G patent fee according to the $5 of a mobile phone, but Ericsson refuses.

Apple also posted a statement on its website about fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing of standard essential patents (SEP). In its statement, Apple cautioned any company to use the power conferred by standardization to eliminate competition through selective patent licensing or discriminatory and exorbitant royalties.

Apple also countersued Ericsson, accusing the Swedish company of using "tough tactics" in updating patents.

Like the previous patent lawsuits between Apple and Qualcomm, Apple has a high probability of losing, because Apple has not contributed much to patents, and Ericsson's participation in the research and development of communication technology standards is too early, and the contribution is still very large.

According to Qualcomm's financial report for the second quarter of 2019, Qualcomm expects to receive $4.5 billion to $4.7 billion in additional revenue from Apple's settlement in the third quarter. In other words, Apple fought Qualcomm for several years and was eventually forced to pay at least $4.5 billion.

In fact, Apple is very rich, why can't it pay the patent fee to Ericsson earlier?

(Editor-in-Charge: Han Li)