On July 9 FOSS Patents reported that 5G iPhones and iPads have been banned in Colombia after a court granted Ericsson a preliminary injunction over a standard-essential patent. Now Apple is claiming that this is a violation of human rights, the website noted today.
FOSS Patents says Apple has asked the Tribunal Superior de Distrito Judicial de Bogotá (Superior Court of the Judicial District of Bogotá) for a “tutela”–a form of emergency relief–against
- Ericsson,
- Its Colombian law firm (OlarteMoure),
- Carlos R. Olarte (a name partner of that firm and Ericsson’s lead counsel in the Colombian part of the Apple patent dispute), and
- The Civil Court No. 43 of the Bogotá Circuit.Regarding the iPhone/iPad ban, FOSS Patents says that the Juzgado 043 Civil del Circuito de Bogotá–a court in the Colombian capital of Bogotá–found Apple’s 5G iPhones and iPads to infringe claim 13 of Colombian patent no. NC2019/0003681, which has been declared essential to the 5G standard and was granted to Ericsson in 2019 and will remain valid until December 2037.
FOSS Patents notes that the preliminary injunction bars Apple from the import, sale, commercialization, and advertisement of products infringing that patent. Under the order, Apple must “warn and communicate with” shops, retailers, owners of social media platforms, mass media, and e-commerce platforms within the territory of Colombia in order to ensure compliance. The affected devices are various iPhone 12 and 13 models, as well as newer iPads. Apple will appeal.
In June it was reported that Ericsson is taking its legal battle against Apple overseas. The company has filed patent infringement complaints in the UK with the with the High Court of Justice for England & Wales, reports FOSS Patents.
The article added that the UK filings apparently came on the heels of the recent failure of a mediation effort in the Eastern District of Texas. While parties are free to make additional filings during mediation talks, “they don’t want to be seen as making hostile moves at a time when everyone should be constructive,” according to FOSS Patents.
In the U.S. in January Sweden’s Ericsson s filed another set of patent infringement lawsuits against Apple in the latest round between the two companies over royalty payment for use of 5G wireless patents in iPhones.
This is the second time Ericsson sued Apple in the U.S.. And Apple has sued Ericsson in return. In 2021, both companies sued each other after negotiations failed over the renewal of a seven-year licensing contract for telecom patents covering 2G, 3G, and 4G technologies.
In October 2021, Ericsson brought a FRAND (not infringement) complaint against Apple in the Eastern District of Texas, with a license agreement still in force until the end of the year. In return Apple brought two motions in the Eastern District of Texas: a motion to dismiss Ericsson’s complaint, and an unopposed motion to seal the former, as it contains “sensitive information relating to business operations, including information regarding license agreements.”
