Both Apple and Ericsson have done courtroom battles with Samsung before, but it doesn’t seem like this mutual foe is enough to prevent the two companies from going after each other in court. Ericsson has filed a complaint against Apple in an American court over the company’s use of Ericsson technology in its iPhone line.
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) sued Ericsson (ERICb.ST) alleging that the Swedish company’s LTE wireless technology patents are not essential to industry cellular standards and that it is demanding excessive royalties for these patents. The iPhone maker said it has not infringed on the patents and does not owe royalties for them. Apple says that the mobile telecoms gear maker is seeking royalties for the LTE technology calculated as a percentage of the price of the entire smartphone or tablet. The royalties should be based on the value of the processor chip that includes the technology, Apple said in the lawsuit filed in a federal court in California. If Ericsson’s patents are deemed essential and the court rules Apple has infringed on them, Apple said it wants the court to assign a reasonable royalty rate.