Samsung found itself embroiled in another legal dispute earlier today when Ericsson filed a lawsuit in the USA against the Korean tech giant on grounds of contract violations. Specifically, Ericsson argues that Samsung failed to meet contractual commitments on FRAND (Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory) conditions.
According to reports citing Ericsson, the company claims to have complied with its own commitments but Samsung hasn't. The case addresses breaches of FRAND obligations by Samsung and seeks to obtain a ruling by the court that Ericsson has complied with its own commitments.
Samsung might be forced to fork over ~$200 million
Ericsson risks losing anywhere between $119.1 and $177.2 million every quarter beginning with Q1 2021 due to the current geopolitical conditions, delayed intellectual property royalty payments and legal costs. The company will seek to recover these expenses when the legal dispute concludes and contracts are agreed upon.
The lawsuit was reportedly filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas but Samsung has yet to comment on the matter. Meanwhile, Ericsson's shares fell by roughly 6%.
This isn't the first time for Samsung and Ericsson to settle their differences in court. Ericsson also filed a lawsuit against Samsung all the way back in 2012 for similar FRAND-related reasons, and two years later Samsung was forced to pay the Swedish tech company $650 million.
