Cross-licence agreement ends global dispute between Ericsson and Lenovo

Lenovo and Ericsson confirmed the agreement to JUVE Patent. In a press release, Ericsson announced that both companies have reached a settlement through a multi-year, global patent cross-licence agreement.

“As part of the settlement, all ongoing lawsuits and administrative proceedings filed by both companies in several countries, including the actions pending before the United States International Trade Commission will be withdrawn”, it states. Financial impacts are expected to be recognised from Q2 2025, reflecting the partial settlement. Only the remaining patent licensing dispute shall be fully resolved through an arbitration process.

A press release from Lenovo confirmed the settlement.

US origins

The global dispute between Lenovo and Ericsson over 4G and 5G patents originated in the US. In October 2023, Ericsson filed the first patent lawsuits with the Eastern District Court of North Carolina, followed by ITC complaints.

Then, in February 2024, Lenovo went one step further, taking the dispute to the Unified Patent Court. Lenovo subsidiary Motorola filed infringements suits over two patents with the Munich local division (case IDs: ACT_5326/2024 and ACT_5324/2024 and ACT_47298/2024). The latter two cases concern EP 3 780 758.

However, Lenovo did not request a Europe-wide injunction from the UPC. The company presumably was taking into account its action at the UK High Court in London. In November 2023, in response to the first US patent infringement and ITC cases filed by Ericsson, Lenovo filed a lawsuit to establish a global cross-licence.

But instead of going on the offensive against Ericsson with Lenovo’s own patents, the company chose a different, more unusual path. The Chinese company tried to take the wind out of Ericsson’s sails by concentrating the dispute in the UK capital by seeking a global FRAND cross-licence determination by the UK High Court.

Victory for Lenovo

This UK case and the actions in the US have recently dominated proceedings. Just a month ago, the UK Court of Appeal granted Lenovo an interim cross-licence from Ericsson, overturning a first-instance decision that had favoured patent holder Ericsson (case ID: CA-2024-002821). Ericsson had not committed to a licence determination by the UK courts, focusing instead on the US proceedings.

The UPC had not yet taken any action in the dispute. The Munich division had rescheduled the EP 758 hearing from 12 March to 6 May 2025. The two companies also faced each other in Brazilian and Colombian courts.

The advisors

In the UK, Pinsent Masons represents Ericsson alongside Taylor Wessing. The Pinsent Masons connection comes via James Marshall, who represented Ericsson at his former firm Taylor Wessing before moving to Pinsent Masons in 2023.

The Taylor Wessing team was led by Tom Foster supported by partners Xuyang Zhu and Mike Washbrook. Kather Augenstein is Ericsson’s go-to firm in Germany. Partner Christof Augenstein was responsible for the defence at the UPC. In the US, Ericsson worked with Alston & Bird.

In the UPC proceedings Lenovo relied on a Hoyng ROKH Monegier team around partner Klaus Haft. However, a London team from Kirkland & Ellis, led by partners Nicola Dagg and Oscar Robinson, drove events in Europe.