ITC “Samsung Electronics, Ericsson Investigation of Patent Infringement”… Samsung “Take legal action”

Input 2021.02.17 10:35 | Revision 2021.02.17 10:36

Ericson is on the offensive after Huawei’s stumbling over US sanctions
Claims “Samsung infringes part of the core communication infrastructure patent”
Top 4 Samsung Electronics’ interpretation of US attacks

Reuters reported that the US International Trade Commission (ITC) announced on the 16th (local time) that it will investigate the alleged infringement of Samsung Electronics’ Ericsson communications infrastructure patent.

On January 15, Ericsson announced some patents for core network products of the 4th generation (4G) and 5th generation (5G) that Samsung Electronics needed to wirelessly connect smartphones and other communication devices such as its antenna, radio, and base station It was after filing a complaint with the ITC for infringing. Ericsson sued Samsung Electronics for patent infringement in the Texas District Court the same month.

In this regard, Samsung Electronics said, “Samsung Electronics has been discussing patent issues fairly and reasonably, but Ericsson has filed a number of lawsuits claiming patent infringement.” “Samsung Electronics will come up with all measures including legal action.” Said the position.

Ericsson stated that even if Samsung Electronics’ patent infringement charges are proved in the data submitted to ITC, there will be no network disruption that Samsung has already supplied to US telecommunications companies, and that Ericsson’s equipment will be able to respond to US local demand as much as possible .

It is known that Samsung Electronics has provided thousands of 5G base stations to major U.S. carriers such as Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T over the past two years.

The court dispute between Samsung Electronics and Ericsson has been around 10 years since Ericsson sued Samsung Electronics for patent infringement in 2012. At the time, Samsung Electronics paid $650 million (about 720 billion won) to Ericsson after a two-year lawsuit.

Recently, in the communications equipment industry, Huawei, the number one player in China, is fighting fiercely to lose its share while the US sanctions slump. This is a trend that is getting more intense in line with the full investment of the US 5G network. According to a report by market research firm Del Oro, in the third quarter of last year, in the 5G communication equipment market, Ericsson ranked 2nd in the 5G communication equipment market with 30.7% after Huawei (32.8%). Samsung Electronics is striving to pursue the existing Huawei, Ericsson, and Nokia’Thirds’ with 6.4%. Accordingly, it is interpreted that this patent litigation is a move to cut off the buds of Samsung Electronics, where Ericsson is emerging in the fourth place.