Ericsson and ZTE drop patent suits

Ericsson filed lawsuits in Germany, UK and Italy against ZTE in April 2011, claiming infringement on several Ericsson patents related to GSM and 3G/UMTS cellular technology. The parties have now signed a global cross-licensing agreement and both parties have also agreed to drop all litigation against each other. "Ericsson has the strongest patent portfolio in the industry with over 27,000 patents and any company which sells mobile devices or systems needs a license from Ericsson. We have signed more than 90 patent agreements with different vendors worldwide. Now we can add ZTE to this group," says Kasim Alfalahi, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Ericsson. ZTE said in a statement to the stock exchange that rumours that the company will pay Ericsson an annual patent license fee of EUR150 million in addition to a substantial indemnity of EUR500 million are false.