Trade Commission Seeks Comments on Possible Cellphone Patent Investigation

Comments are due to the International Trade Commission Oct. 25 in a potential patent infringement investigation on imported 5G-capable mobile phones and components, said a notice for Tuesday's Federal Register. Ericsson filed a complaint last week alleging Motorola and Lenovo import 5G-capable mobile phones which infringe on four of Ericsson's patents on protecting privacy in wireless networks, wireless transmission, uplink and downlink controls and wireless encoding. It asked the commission for a permanent limited exclusion order and a cease and desist order. Ericsson said the infringement was part of Lenovo's longstanding bad faith licensing negotiations on Ericsson's fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory commitments. The company said it has been in negotiations with Lenovo for more than a decade over several Ericsson patents "essential" to cellular standards.