Apple Accused of Bad Faith in Ericsson Patent Royalty Talks

Ericsson AB filed a lawsuit Monday accusing Apple Inc. of engaging in unfair tactics to avoid paying royalties for the use of baseline 5G telecommunications technology.

Ericsson says it’s trying to renegotiate a license with Apple and is already encountering obstacles. It wants a federal judge to rule that Ericsson’s offer complies with requirements that royalty demands be fair and reasonable.

The two companies have been here before -- their earlier license was signed in 2015 only after protracted litigation. Then, Ericsson said, Apple filed a “surprise suit” challenging the validity of seven Ericsson patents and demanding that Ericsson provide ...