Apple and Ericsson Move Toward Standards-Essential Patent Trial

A trial to resolve the rate Apple Inc. must pay Ericsson Inc. for patented 5G technology used in iPhones is set to begin Dec. 5 after a federal judge in Marshall, Texas, wrapped up two days of pretrial proceedings Tuesday.

Apple and Ericsson are fighting over what Apple should pay to license the patents covering 5G connectivity and networking technology—specifically the rates for patents deemed essential by a European standards organization.

Companies that collaborate on standards-essential patents pledge to license them on “fair reasonable and non-discriminatory”—or FRAND—terms, a phrase that has been litigated in so-called FRAND trials.

In the first ...