December 18, 2024 – United Daily News
by Lin Zhen-Yi
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has announced an initial ruling that smartphones produced by Motorola Mobility, owned by Lenovo, infringe on patents held by Ericsson. If the ruling is upheld, the United States may prohibit the import of these phones.
According to a Reuters report, an ITC judge stated in the preliminary ruling that Motorola Mobility infringed on Ericsson’s patents related to 5G wireless technology. This represents an initial victory for Swedish company Ericsson in its international patent licensing dispute with China’s Lenovo Group.
The full ITC commission is set to make a final decision on Ericsson’s allegations by April 2025. Another ITC judge ruled in favor of Lenovo in a related case last month.
In 2023, Ericsson filed a complaint against Motorola Mobility with the ITC, claiming that Motorola’s Moto G, Edge, and Razr series smartphones infringed on patents related to wireless communications. Lenovo has denied these allegations.
These companies are also entangled in patent litigation in South America, the UK, and North Carolina, USA. Ericsson won preliminary court injunctions in Brazil and Colombia, banning the sale of Lenovo smartphones in those countries.
In October, a U.S. court reinstated Lenovo’s request for an injunction to suspend the enforcement of these bans in South America.
According to a report by UK tech website Theregister, Ericsson filed a lawsuit against Lenovo and its mobile device subsidiary Motorola in October 2023 with the North Carolina District Court, accusing them of infringing 5G patents and delaying negotiations for mutual licensing agreements.
Ericsson accuses Lenovo of infringing four patents, namely U.S. Patent Nos. 10,425,817; 10,306,669; 11,317,342; and 11,515,893. These patents mainly relate to 5G communications and involve Lenovo’s phones, laptops, PCs, and tablet devices. Previously released information indicates that Ericsson’s 5G patent licensing fee for high-end handheld devices is set at $5 per device (approximately NT$164), while for low-end handheld devices, the fee can be as low as $2.5 per device (approximately NT$82).
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