Europe / ASIA : Ericsson has concluded a worldwide patent license agreement with Samsung.

Under the terms of a worldwide, royalty-bearing agreement, Ericsson has granted Samsung a non-exclusive license under Ericsson's patent portfolio for the GSM, TDMA, GPRS, EDGE and WCDMA mobile telephony standards, to develop, manufacture and sell 2G and 3G subscriber and infrastructure equipment.

In return, Samsung provides a royalty payment, as well as a reciprocal license to Ericsson.

The agreement confirms Ericsson's solid patent portfolio in mobile technology and specifically gives Samsung access to Ericsson's portfolio of WCDMA patents - the most extensive in the industry.

"We accelerate the development of 3G and Mobile Internet and leverage further on our technology leadership and patent portfolio," says Torbjörn Nilsson ( inset ), Senior Vice President at Ericsson. "The Ericsson 3G IPR portfolio is extremely strong and is required by any company developing 3G products."

Ericsson has about 40% market share in 3G/WCDMA as well as in GSM/GPRS/Edge - and also the industry's strongest R&D commitment with over 10,000 granted patents worldwide.