Apple: SEP owner filed ‘secret’ Colombian lawsuits
The tech company has hit back after being served with a preliminary injunction over 5G patents.
Apple has alleged that Ericsson had covertly filed patent suits in Colombia, in a move aimed at forcing Apple to subvert proceedings in a Texas court.
In an emergency motion for relief, filed Friday, July 8, at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Apple claimed that Ericsson had filed more than 10 lawsuits in Colombia “in secret, and all with absolutely no notice to Apple”.
According to Apple, while most of Ericsson’s Colombia efforts had been unsuccessful, a court has now granted Ericsson’s ex parte request for an injunction on an “alleged 5G standard-essential patent where no 5G networks are even in operation”.
The motion added: “Ericsson sought a clandestine injunction even though that very same patent will be part of this court’s December fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) determination.”
Last year, Ericsson sued Apple in the Texas court, asking the court to declare that its 5G patent licensing rates are fair and reasonable in order to clear negotiations with Apple, while accusing Apple of attempting to leverage its “superior financial position” to drive down royalty rates in negotiations.
In its motion, Apple has claimed that Ericsson had agreed to have the Texas court set binding FRAND terms.
“Both the Court and Apple embraced Ericsson’s choice to resolve the parties’ global FRAND dispute in this court—and, indeed, Apple advocated and the court ordered accelerating this case to trial in December,” said the motion.
It added: “Facing that quickly approaching trial, Ericsson has unrelentingly sought to disrupt it by, among other acts, filing secret, ex parte injunction claims against Apple in courts around the world.”
Apple further alleged that Ericsson knows that a December trial will “expose its royalty demands as grossly excessive and directly contrary to FRAND”.
Apple has asked the court to order that Ericsson cover Apple’s expenses from the Colombian litigation.
“If the court orders that relief against Ericsson, hopefully Ericsson will reconsider its secret South American campaign and allow the court’s December trial to proceed without subversion,” said the motion.
Finally, Apple also accused Ericsson of hypocrisy, stating that Ericsson had secured an order from the Texas court blocking Samsung from pursuing enforcement of a Chinese court’s anti-suit injunction. This dispute has now settled.
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