Ericsson files patent infringement lawsuit against Micromax

Ericsson has sued Indian handset maker Micromax for patent infringement, reports The Economic Times. The disputed handsets and tablets of Micromax include select models from its Ninja series, Funbook Talk, and the Canvas 2 series. The Swedish network equipment maker has moved the Delhi High Court claiming about INR 1 billion in damages, saying it was taking legal action after three years of negotiations failed to yield a licence agreement on standards-essential patents. Ericsson alleged that the handset maker has refused to sign a licensing agreement covering its patented innovations across several mobile technology standards such as GSM, EDGE and 3G.

The Delhi High Court, in an interim order, has asked Micromax to pay between 1.25 percent and 2 percent of the sale price of disputed devices and deposit the amount with the court. The court also allowed Ericsson executives to join customs officials in inspecting Micromax's consignments to check for devices violating its patents. Executives close to Micromax rejected the charges saying the Swedish company had failed to adhere to global commitments on providing its industry-essential patents to handset makers under so-called fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (Frand) terms.

Executives close to the handset manufacturer claimed that Ericsson was now trying to extort what they termed "irrational and inequitable licence fees". The Micromax spokesperson said the Indian company was committed to negotiating a Frand agreement. Executives close to Micromax said they would abide by the interim order and pointed out that the court had asked both parties to negotiate a Frand licence agreement which would be valid until the next hearing. These executives said Micromax would deposit the interim payment with the court.