The patent-licensing battle between Apple and Ericsson appears to be heating up. And, according to one analyst, Ericsson's case against the iPhone vendor may be gaining momentum.

At the heart of the case are Ericsson's 5G patents. The vendor wants Apple to pay licensing fees for access to those patents. In its pursuit of those fees, Ericsson is working to convince patent judges across the world to prevent Apple from selling products that it believes infringe on its patents. Ericsson has already done so in Colombia and is working to convince a US court to enact a similar ban.

Figure 1: (Source: Rhea Eason/Alamy Stock Photo)

To be clear, the effort is a negotiating tactic. It's unlikely that Apple would actually stop selling its iPhone in the US market; instead, it would probably agree to Ericsson's patent-licensing terms.

The latest: According to Florian Mueller, an intellectual property expert who maintains the Foss Patents website, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) recently issued a new order that puts Ericsson "in great shape."

Mueller argued that, at this stage, Apple is facing some serious legal setbacks, and it's possible that the iPhone vendor will reach some kind of cross-licensing patent agreement with Ericsson before the December start of a trial on the topic.

For Apple though, it appears that Ericsson is just one of several companies looking for new licensing deals. As noted by Foss Patents, it appears that both Nokia and InterDigital are also pursuing new patent-licensing deals with the iPhone vendor.

Apple, for its part, recently announced its newest iPhone 14, and has posted solid sales figures for the gadget both in the US and internationally.

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— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano