Apple has filed a lawsuit against Ericsson to challenge the royalties the Swedish company is demanding for the use of its patents on LTE technology, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

In a complaint filed in a Northern California court, Apple claims that Ericsson is asking for excessive royalties because it believes its patents are unique to the high-speed wireless technology industry. Apple says they are not and therefore should be priced lower than the Swedish company is asking.

The amount in question in Apple's complaint is not disclosed. In it, Apple states that the royalties Ericsson is asking for for using LTE technology are based on the cost of the entire LTE device, while the American manufacturer believes that the amount of royalties should depend only on the cost of the LTE chip.

The litigation began after the licensing agreement between the two companies expired, WSJ recalls. For two years, they could not agree on an extension. Now the Swedish company claims that Apple continues to use Ericsson technology without a license. According to the Swedish company, Apple uses its technology in every smartphone and LTE tablet.

An Apple spokesman insists that Apple always pays a fair price for the patent rights to the technologies used in its products. "Unfortunately, we were unable to reach an agreement with Ericsson on the amount of payment and are now turning to the court as a last resort," he explains.

In response, Ericsson said it had filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Texas. The company is asking the court to determine whether it made a fair offer to Apple. If the court finds Ericsson's patents unique and finds that Apple has infringed them, Apple will ask the court to award fair royalties.

Apple Doesn't Want to Pay Ericsson