On May 30, 2025, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) terminated its investigation into Motorola following a confidential settlement agreement reached between Ericsson and Motorola.

The ITC investigation stemmed from a complaint filed by Ericsson in December 2023, in which the company accused Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Lenovo, of importing and selling smartphones in the U.S. that allegedly infringed several of Ericsson’s 5G standard-essential patents and violated wireless communication protocols.

Ericsson sought relief under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, requesting the ITC to issue an exclusion order to block the importation of Motorola’s infringing devices into the U.S., along with a cease and desist order.

In a joint filing submitted on May 28, 2025, both parties informed the ITC that they had reached a settlement.

Although the specific terms of the settlement remain confidential, experts suggest that the agreement may include cross-licensing arrangements, potential monetary compensation, and clauses concerning future cooperation or non-assertion of rights.

Case Timeline Between the Two Parties:

• October 2023: Ericsson filed patent infringement lawsuits against Lenovo and its subsidiary Motorola Mobility in multiple jurisdictions.
• December 2023: Lenovo and Motorola Mobility countersued Ericsson in a federal court in North Carolina, alleging that Ericsson had failed to fulfill its licensing obligations for 5G patents and had initiated global litigation campaigns while demanding excessive royalties.
• On the same day, Ericsson initiated two separate legal actions against Lenovo in the North Carolina federal court and the ITC, claiming that Lenovo’s laptops infringed its patents related to high-efficiency video coding (HEVC) standards.
• November 2024: The High Court of England and Wales rejected Lenovo’s request for a provisional license.
• December 2024: An ITC administrative law judge issued a preliminary ruling, finding that certain smartphones manufactured by Motorola Mobility infringed Ericsson’s 5G wireless technology patents.
• February 28, 2025: The Court of Appeal of England and Wales ruled in favor of Lenovo, stating that the company was entitled to a provisional license and that Ericsson’s global pursuit of injunctions against Lenovo violated the good faith principle embedded in its FRAND obligations.

This settlement is part of a broader trend of similar agreements among telecom giants in recent years. In 2022, Apple and Ericsson reached a multi-year 5G patent licensing deal that resolved numerous legal disputes in the U.S. and Europe. In 2023, Nokia and Oppo settled their global disputes, allowing Oppo to reenter the German and UK markets.