ParkerVision sues LG in Germany

US-based chip company ParkerVision has sued South Korean electronics company LG in a lawsuit centring on wireless internet connections in smartphones.

In a complaint filed at the Munich Regional Court, ParkerVision has accused the German branch of LG of infringing its patent, European patent number 1,206,831.

The patent, called “Modem for wireless local area network”, was approved in 2002.

ParkerVision is seeking injunctive relief and damages for infringing devices which it claims are being “offered, brought to market, used or introduced in Germany”.

According to ParkerVision, LG products including the LG G Flex 2, the LG G3 and the LG G5 all infringe the patent.

Jeffrey Parker, chief executive of ParkerVision, said: “The decision to pursue our rights overseas was made following significant effort to reach equitable business arrangements for the use of our intellectual property.

“We have reached the point where international legal action is appropriate to defend our IP rights abroad in order to protect the investment our shareholders have made in our patented assets.

“Our goal remains to establish ParkerVision as a global presence for licensing and development of products based on its wireless technologies.”

The company, which previously claimed to have patented the technology that led to the invention of the smartphone, is no stranger to patent litigation.

In March the US Supreme Court declined to hear ParkerVision’s five-year row with Qualcomm, a patent dispute centred around the technology used for “down-converting” electromagnetic signals.

Down-converting refers to converting a modulated high-frequency electromagnetic signal into a low-frequency signal in an electronic device including a wireless receiver.

ParkerVision is being represented by law firm Noerr.