(Alliance News) - Telefon AB Ericsson on Friday said it reached a global patent licence agreement with technology firm Apple Inc, ending a patent-related legal dispute between the two companies.

Telefon AB Ericsson is a Stockholm-based provider of information & communication technology services, and is part of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson.

Ericsson said the agreement includes a cross-license relating to patented cellular standard-essential technologies and grants certain other patent rights.

It added that the settlement ends the patent lawsuits filed by both companies in several countries, including in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Texas, and the complaints filed before the United States International Trade Commission.

Meanwhile, Ericsson said its intellectual property rights revenue continues to be affected by expired patent licence agreements pending renewal, the technology shift from 4G to 5G, possible currency effects and "geopolitical impact" going forward.

Ericsson expects its fourth quarter intellectual property rights licensing revenue to be between SEK5.5 billion to SEK6.0 billion, which is about GBP432.8 million to GBP472.2 million. This includes the effects of the settlement and ongoing intellectual property rights business with all other licensees. In the fourth quarter of financial 2022, Ericsson's intellectual property rights revenues were SEK2.4 billion.

"We are pleased to settle the litigations with Apple with this agreement, which is of strategic importance to our 5G licensing program. This will allow both companies to continue to focus on bringing the best technology to the global market," said Christina Petersson, Ericsson's chief intellectual property officer.

Shares in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson were up 4.0% to KR69.40 on Friday afternoon in Stockholm. Apple shares were down 0.9% to USD141.28 in New York.

By Jaskeet Briah, Alliance News reporter

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