Telecom network equipment maker Ericsson has filed a patent infringement lawsuit worth Rs 100 crore against the local handset maker Micromax in Delhi High Court, reports The Economic Times. Read the Delhi High Court order here. The report states that this lawsuit was filed by Ericsson after Micromax had refused to sign an agreement to license Ericsson's patents across various wireless technology standards such as GSM, EDGE and 3G and a three-year negotiation with the company had failed. Among the products involved in this lawsuit include select models of Micromax's Ninja handset series, the Canvas 2 handset series and its Android tablet Funbook Talk. Interestingly, the report also states that Ericsson is looking to file similar lawsuits against other local handset makers like Lava, Spice, Karbonn and Intex Technologies. Micromax has however dismissed these charges to the publication and claimed that Ericsson has failed to keep up with its commitment of providing industry essential patents under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. FRAND allows companies to license standard essential patents from other companies, before it becomes a part of the standards approved technical standard. Delhi Court Interim Order: In an interim order issued last week, the Delhi High Court has informed that the companies have agreed upon an interim arrangement till the next hearing on April 22, 2013. As per the agreement, both Ericsson and Micromax have agreed to negotiate a FRAND License Agreement by April 9, 2013 and Micromax will intimate Ericsson whenever a new consignment arrives at the Customs department within 24 hours, to allow them to inspect the consignment for…
