Ericsson and ZTE bury patent hatchets

Swedish mobile network giant Ericsson and Chinese rival ZTE have settled their patent infringement disputes, Ericsson said in a statement on Friday.

"The parties have now signed a global cross-licensing agreement and both parties have also agreed to drop all litigation," said the statement.

In April, Ericsson filed lawsuits in Britain and Italy against ZTE for infringement of its patents on mobile phones plus a lawsuit in Germany regarding phones and infrastructure after saying it tried unsuccessfully to get the company to sign a license for several years.

ZTE, which in recent years has zoomed to join the ranks of the world's top mobile phone manufacturers, responded within days with countersuits for allegedly breaching its Chinese patents on network technology.

"Ericsson has the strongest patent portfolio in the industry with over 27,000 patents and any company which sells mobile devices or systems needs a license from Ericsson," said Kasim Alfalahi, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Ericsson.

"We have signed more than 90 patent agreements with different vendors worldwide. Now we can add ZTE to this group," he added.

(c) 2012 AFP