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Ericsson settles patent dispute with Samsung

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Ericsson settles patent dispute with Samsung

Ericsson has settled a long-running patent dispute with South Korean electronics giant Samsung, the Swedish telecom equipment maker said on Monday, prompting a rise in Ericsson shares on the Stockholm exchange.

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Ericsson said in a statement that the agreement included an initial payment which would boost the company's fourth-quarter profit and revenue by 3.3 billion kronor ($511 million) and 4.2 billion kronor respectively.

"Ericsson and Samsung have reached an agreement on global patent licenses between the two companies," the Swedish company said.

"The cross license agreement covers patents relating to GSM, UMTS, and LTE standards for both networks and handsets."

The multi-year licence deal also guarantees royalty payments from Samsung to Ericsson, according to the Swedish company.

In November 2012, Ericsson filed two patent infringement lawsuits that came to an end with the deal: one at a US court in Texas and one at the US International Trade Commission.

"We are pleased that we could reach a mutually fair and reasonable agreement with Samsung. We always viewed litigation as a last resort," chief Intellectual Property officer Kasim Alfalahi said.

Samsung also announced on Monday it had signed another long-term cross-licence deal with Google in order to prevent potential patent disputes in the future.

According to the South Korean group, the agreement would cover the firms' existing patents and those filed over the next ten years.

News of the patent settlement pushed Ericsson shares higher on Monday following, with the company's stock price up two percent ten minutes following the opening of trading on the OMX exchange in Stockholm.

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