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Airvana Network Solutions recently filed a lawsuit for $330 million against Ericsson A.B. and Ericsson Inc., claiming the company is illegally using Airvana's hardware designs to create a competing product.
"Ericsson's behavior is a classic example of a giant multinational using its size and position to extract the profits from a smaller, innovative American company," said Randy Battat, president and CEO of Airvana. "They are brazenly doing so in violation of both our contractual agreement with them and the trust we placed in them when we licensed our proprietary technology."
Tech companies like Airvana that enter into licensing agreements with larger corporations would be wise to invest in a professional liability insurance policy that would help cover intellectual property-related issues that crop up if the license is not properly executed or honored.
Airvana's technology has contributed to some of the top wireless phone carriers being able to offer 3G network coverage, such as Verizon and Sprint.
Ericsson was also recently involved in another lawsuit, with ZTE, in which the two companies recently agreed to withdraw patent infringement claims against each other, reported Bloomberg.