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Samsung responds to Ericsson patent suit with its own lawsuits
The Korean mobile-phone maker has hit Ericsson with eight of its own patent suits, according to Foss Patents.
Samsung has taken out its big guns against Ericsson in a lawsuit deep in the heart of Texas.
Late yesterday, Samsung responded to a patent violation suit that was filed by Ericsson in the Eastern District of Texas last November. In its suit, Ericsson accused Samsung of patent infringement after the two companies failed to reach an agreement over the renewal of certain patent licensing deals.
In December, Samsung fought back by filing a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission over the licensing deals and several patent infringement claims. Now Samsung has fired the next shot with its response to the Texas lawsuit.
In a companion lawsuit, Samsung has claimed the same patent violations as it did in the ITC complaint, says Foss Patents' Florian Mueller. And it's brought along eight of its own patent infringment claims.
The eight patents cited by Samsung encompass a range of technologies, including CMOS memory, semiconductor devices, and wireless communications. Samsung is also claiming a breach of contract, charging Ericsson with a failure to honor FRAND (fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory) terms in their licensing agreement.
In its filing with the court, Samsung essentially accused Ericsson of turning into a patent troll, according to Mueller. Ericsson sold its position in Sony-Ericsson to Sony in 2011 but has continued to assert its mobile-phone patents.
