Now, Ericsson sues Samsung for 'allegedly infringing patents' in US

Swedish firm Ericsson has filed a lawsuit in a US court against Samsung for allegedly infringing its patents. Ericsson said Samsung failed to renew an expired licence agreement after two years of negotiations.

"The dispute concerns both Ericsson's patented technology that is essential to several telecommunications and networking standards used by Samsung's products as well as other of Ericsson's patented inventions that are frequently implemented in wireless and consumer electronics products," Ericsson said in a statement.

According to the BBC, Samsung said Ericsson was demanding higher royalty rates for the same set of patents. Ericsson's lawsuit was filed in a court in Texas where its American operations are headquartered.

It did not state the amount it was seeking from Samsung in damages, the report said. But Ericsson said it had earned 938 million dollars last year in revenue from more than 100 licence agreements with companies in the industry, it added.

Meanwhile, Samsung said it would contest the allegations. "This time Ericsson has demanded significantly higher royalty rates for the same patent portfolio," the company said in a statement.

"As we cannot accept such extreme demands, we will take all necessary legal measures to protect against Ericsson's excessive claims," the Korean firm added.