Apple and Ericsson will work together to develop 5G technology, the next generation of mobile data communication, having signed a global patent agreement that ends lawsuits in Europe and the U.S.

The deal will see Apple being allowed to use Ericsson’s standard essential patents as well as certain other patents held by the Swedish company while both parties have also agreed to end all ongoing litigation between them. Looking to move away from court room battles, 苹果公司和爱立信现在将目光更密切地合作中合作 “multiple technology areas,” which include 5G development, video network traffic management, and wireless network optimization.

“We are pleased with this new agreement with Apple, which clears the way for both companies to continue to focus on bringing new technology to the global market, and opens up for more joint business opportunities in the future,” Kasim Alfalahi, chief intellectual property officer at Ericsson, 在说 声明 accompanying the announcement.

While the financial terms of the deal remain confidential, as part of the seven year deal, Apple will make an initial payment to Ericsson and thereafter pay ongoing royalties. Most importantly, for both companies, the deal puts an end to expensive and time-consuming legal actions taking place in the U.S. and Europe, 包括之前的中美调查. International Trade Commission, lawsuits pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, as well as lawsuits in the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands.

Apple and Ericsson’s global cross-licensing patent agreement brings to an end years of negotiations, lawsuits and bitter recriminations between the two technology giants and paves the way for a lucrative partnership in the future with the two companies combining their resources to work on a range of improvements to the way smartphones, tablets and connected devices work in the future.

The previous licensing deal between the pair expired in mid-January this year after years of negotiations failed to find a deal. Soon after the deal expired, 苹果公司提起诉讼，声称爱立信瑞典公司，要求特许权过多的​​专利，LTE标准不是必需的. Ericsson then counter-sued hours later, 求达 $750 million in royalties per year for Apple to continue licensing its patented wireless technologies.

两家公司之间的紧张关系在二月份的时候升级爱立信提出另一项诉讼，声称苹果侵犯了 41 无线相关的专利，它说是对产品如iPhone和iPad的关键功能. 同时, Ericsson filed two complaints with the U.S.-based International Trade Commission seeking to get the trade body to ban the sale of iPhones and iPads.

In May, 爱立信, 这是世界上最大的移动网络设备供应商，拥有超过 35,000 patents related to 2G, 3G and 4G wireless technologies, extended its actions against Apple by filing lawsuits 在德国, the U.K. and the Netherlands.