Samsung, Ericsson Deal Ends Patent Spat - PC Magazine

• January 27, 2014 12:30pm EST

Ericsson and Samsung have ended their patent scuffle with a settlement that includes a cross-license agreement for patents relating to GSM, UMTS, and LTE standards for networks and handsets.

According to the deal, Samsung must pay an undisclosed initial amount—expected to help boost Ericsson's cash flow—as well as ongoing royalties for the length of the multi-year agreement. Specific financial details were not disclosed.

In a statement, Ericsson said it remains committed to licensing its standard-essential patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

"We are pleased that we could reach a mutually fair and reasonable agreement with Samsung," Kasim Alfalahi, Ericsson's chief intellectual property officer, said in a statement. "This agreement allows us to continue to focus on bringing new technology to the global market and provides as incentive to other innovators to share their own ideas."

Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case dates back to November 2012, when Ericsson sued Samsung for refusing to renew a patent licensing deal for telecommunications technology. The Swedish company said it signed a patent deal in 2001, and renewed the agreement in 2007. But when Samsung's license expired in 2012, the company failed to renew, allegedly selling hundreds of millions of unlicensed tablets, televisions, and smartphones—including the Galaxy S lineup.

Ericsson accused Samsung of refusing to license any of its patents to Ericsson on FRAND terms in an effort to get Ericsson to drop the price of it licenses.

Today's deal ends complaints filed before the International Trade Commission as well as the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Over the weekend, Google and Samsung also announced a cross-licensing deal that should cover the companies' existing patents as well as patents produced by either across the next decade.

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