Ericsson and Samsung have reached a settlement in their licensing dispute and agreed a new multi-year deal for access to each other's technology. The cross-licence agreement covers patents relating to all cellular technologies and takes effect for sales of network infrastructure and handsets since 01 January 2021.
The settlement ends all ongoing litigation between the companies, including their complaints at the US International Trade Commission. Ericsson sued Samsung in December 2020 after they were unable to reach agreement on a new licensing deal, and Samsung followed with its own claims. Their previous licence renewal followed a similar path of nearly two years of litigation before settling.
In the latest deal, Ericsson and Samsung also agreed to cooperate on technology projects to advance the mobile industry in open standardization and products for consumers and enterprises. Further details of the licensing agreement were not disclosed.
Ericsson said it expects to book revenues from the new deal already in Q2. However, the company said its IP licensing revenue remains under pressure, as it works on renewing other expired licence agreements and weathers the geopolitical and technological shifts underway in the handset market. In the second quarter, the company expects total IPR licensing revenues of SEK 2.0-2.5 billion.
