Sweden's Ericsson suing Chinese rival ZTE

Swedish wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson says it is suing Chinese rival ZTE Corp. for alleged infringement on several of its patents in both handsets and networks.

Ericsson spokesman Fredrik Hallstan says the group on Friday filed the lawsuits in Britain, Germany and Italy, after the Chinese maker of telecommunications equipment failed to sign a patent licensing agreement with the Stockholm-based company.

Hallstan on Saturday declined to give any details on the total sum of the lawsuits or exactly how many patents are concerned, but says it is seeking damages for both past and future use.

The Italian and British lawsuits regard handset technology, while the one in Germany covers both handset and infrastructure patents.