Ericsson said Samsung will pay an initial $650...

Ericsson said Samsung will pay an initial $650 million, along with future royalty payments, as part of a cross-licensing agreement to end ongoing patent disputes between the companies (http://bit.ly/1btidco). The agreement covers the companies’ patents on the GSM, UMTS and LTE standards both companies use for their devices and networks, which had been the subject of a series of lawsuits beginning in 2012 in U.S. District Court in Tyler, Texas, and complaints at the U.S. International Trade Commission (CD Jan 29/13 p16). Ericsson said it is committed to licensing its standard-essential patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms “for the benefit of the industry.” The company “always viewed litigation as a last resort,” said Ericsson Chief Intellectual Property Officer Kasim Alfalahi in a news release. Samsung said it too has “always preferred negotiations over litigation, and will continue adhering to [FRAND] licensing principles to assist in our industry’s advancement” (http://bit.ly/L3KUWv).