Micromax Sued By Ericsson Over Patent Infringement, Court Order To Pay Royalities
Micromax might claim that its products are ‘Nothing like anything’, but it seems that Ericsson doesn’t share the same sentiment. The company has sued Micromax over patent infringement and has moved to Delhi High Court, demanding Rs 100 crores in damages. This marks the arrival of patent wars on the Indian shores, with similar feuds between tech giants including Samsung, Apple, Google and Microsoft already going in courtrooms around the world.
Ericsson claims that the homegrown mobile manufacturer has refused to enter licence agreements over use of several of its patents across wireless technology standards such as GSM, EDGE and 3G despite several attempts by the former.
Economic Times reports that, Delhi High Court has ordered Micromax to pay between 1.25% and 2% of sale price of the disputed devices as a deposit to the court. The court has also allowed Ericsson executives to join customs officials in inspecting consignments to check for devices violating its patents.
“Indian courts respond swiftly and with speed, if a strong case is made out. This case marks the arrival of big ticket patent litigation in India,” said Ericsson’s counsel Pratibha Singh.
“Micromax is committed to negotiating a FRAND license with Ericsson as has Ericsson undertaken to providing a Fair Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) license to Micromax. Since the matter is pending before the Hon’ble court it would be incorrect for Micromax to make any further statements on the matter” said Micromax in a press statement.