Lenovo Secures Major Win Against Ericsson In UK Patent Dispute
Lenovo Secures Major Win Against Ericsson In UK Patent Dispute
UK Court rules in favor of Lenovo in patent dispute with Ericsson
The UK's High Court of Justice of England and Wales (EWHC) rules in favor of Lenovo's Motorola Mobility unit in a patent dispute with Ericsson. The court determined the scope of a 2011 wireless device licensing agreement between Motorola and Ericsson, finding that most Motorola devices are covered under the agreement.
This decision is a significant victory for Lenovo, which had argued that differences in opinion over the license's scope were a major hurdle to a global agreement. The court's decision comes after a UK Court of Appeal ruling that Ericsson breached its FRAND obligations related to 4G and 5G standard-essential patents.
The EWHC's judgment clarifies that the agreement covers actual Motorola products or commercially reasonable updates or extensions (CRUE) versions within Motorola's field of business. The court also rejected Ericsson's restrictive approach, finding that Motorola devices undergoing successive product improvements do not necessarily disqualify their CRUE version status.
