LG sues TCL for alleged LTE patent infringement
LG Electronics has filed lawsuits againstTCL, the Chinese manufacturer behind the BlackBerry, Palm and Alcatel rebranded Android handsets, alleging infringement of its LTE patents. The filings have been made in the German district courts of Mannheim and Düsseldorf.
LG said in astatement:
“The lawsuits allege that TCL knowingly implemented technologies in its handsets that infringe three of LG’s standard essential patents that cover key areas of LTE handsets: minimizing the loss of packet transmission, control timers for uplink synchronization and interference reduction in the uplink synchronizing process.
“The suits against TCL were filed only after numerous attempts were made by LG to remedy its concerns, to no avail. LG has successfully asserted its extensive LTE patent portfolio on a number of occasions in the courts by legally challenging the unlawful use of its technologies.”
TCL also manufactures smart TVs.
Lawsuits like this are not uncommon in the tech world, but this is a notable one given LG’s longevity in the mobile game and TCL’s relatively short time in it. It’s an old hat accusing a newer competitor of intellectual property theft.
It also serves as reminder that not all companies share their network technology. LG believes rather than license its patented LTE tech from them TCL has illegally copied it. We wait to see what the ruling is.
Author: Henry Burrell, Contributor
Previously Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, Henry covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.
