Ericsson sued by Airvana for $330m
Ericsson AB, the world’s largest maker of wireless networks, was sued for more than $330 million by Chelmsford-based Airvana Network Solutions Inc., which says Ericsson misappropriated intellectual property.
Ericsson secretly developed a product based on Airvana trade secrets to operate wireless network equipment to avoid paying software licensing fees, Airvana said in a complaint filed in New York state Supreme Court.
“Ericsson has now undertaken a blatant ploy to evade its contractual obligations, by developing a secret ‘in-house’ project designed to misappropriate critical Airvana intellectual property,” the company said.
Ericsson, which depended on Airvana’s technology to service customers, “constantly badgered” Airvana to reduce the price of the software and began development of its own product in 2010, according to the complaint.
Airvana said it has suffered damages of more than $330 million and will face “an immediate and precipitous decline” in revenue if Ericsson is able to displace the company with its own product.
A spokesman for Ericsson, based in Stockholm, couldn’t be reached for comment.
