A confrontation between Apple and Ericsson has ramped up after the US International Trade Commission has announced the investigation of Apple.
The two companies are currently at loggerheads over a patent-infringement case in which the Swedish comms and tech company has sued Apple.
Of course, this is the tech world and it’s unsurprising to note that Apple has also sued Ericsson this year claiming they’re seeking to “exploit its patents to take the value of these cutting-edge Apple innovations”.
Apple also accused Ericsson of engaging in what it describes as “abusive licensing practices”.
From Ericsson’s point of view, the suits that have triggered the involvement of the ITC look at Apple’s products that use 2G GSM and 4G LTE telecommunications standards, while a second covers ““smartphones, tablet computers, digital media players, and smartwatches.” That’ll pretty much be Apple’s entire product line, then.
While lawsuits among companies have a certain level of frequency (just look at Apple and Samsung’s past relationship – yet Samsung still manufactures parts for Apple) the involvement of the ITC is a significant development as it can actually block products from entering the US – including those manufactured by US companies abroad, like Apple’s iPhone, for example.
Any potential import ban could be a huge turning point in the case and could encourage Apple to settle fairly swiftly.
Is Ericsson trying to stop Apple selling iPhones in the US? http://t.co/QYXjQWHlzZ pic.twitter.com/wd3UGlk2s1
— TapSmart (@TapSmart) March 31, 2015