Image Tingey Injury Law Firm via Unsplash
So, there’s a series of legal battles brewing between Apple and Ericsson. I’ve mostly ignored them, though we did touch on them back in late January. We’d heard then that Ericsson had sued Apple for its continued use of 5G technology patented by the Swedish telecoms company. At that point, Apple had countersued, arguing that Ericsson suing Apple in different jurisdictions for various amounts indicated that Ericsson did “not want a Court setting fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory ('FRAND') terms for their patents.”
Honestly, it’s the suit/countersuit thing that kind of turned me off the story. Difficult to keep up and, besides, it’s only money. What? Ericsson’s gonna sue Apple out of existence?
Anyway, they have a new court date, and it’s almost a year-and-a-half from now. According to a piece from iMore, a U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of Texas - Marshall Division has:
…ordered that Apple and Ericsson would have to hash its legal dispute out in front of a jury in June of 2023. In the run-up to the case, both parties will be required to follow the usual court steps of finding witnesses, evidence, and potential other parties who may be involved.
Ericsson seeks no ban on devices in this particular case, nor is it looking for sanctions against Apple. All it wants is for the court to decide how much Apple should pay per-device for using Ericsson’s tech. Ericsson is said to want $5 per-iPhone. Apple would like to pay less. See you back here in June of ’23.
