STOCKHOLM – Ericsson is suing French-Chinese smartphone maker Wiko in the German regional courts Düsseldorf and Mannheim over alleged patent infringements.
The Swedish company said Thursday that Wiko has infringed patents essential for 2G, 3G and 4G cellular technology, as well as implementation patents. Ericsson added that Wiko has been infringing its intellectual property rights for several years without any license or compensation, despite negotiations since 2013.
“Global sharing of technology and open standards are the force behind the smartphone revolution and have allowed new entrants, such as Wiko, to quickly build successful businesses”, said Ericsson’s chief intellectual property officer Gustav Brismark, in a statement. “This ICT eco-system only works, however, if all market players respect the basic rules of FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) licensing. It is unfair for Wiko to benefit from our substantial R&D investment without paying a reasonable license fee for our patented technology.”
Ericsson says that it holds over 42,000 granted patents worldwide, including 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE technologies, and that it plays a key role in the global organizations that are developing standards for 5G technologies.
