TMCnet Feature

Airvana Network Solutions has sued Ericsson (News - Alert) for over $330 million for allegedly violating its trade secrets and trying to force it out of business, according to news reports.

Airvana claims Ericsson developed a "knock-off" – which was based on technology from Airvana (News - Alert) – in violation of agreements between the companies. "If Ericsson is able, even temporarily, to displace Airvana with a wrongfully developed 'in-house' product, Airvana will face an immediate and precipitous decline in its revenues and may be rendered unable to meet its obligations," according to a lawsuit filed this week in a New York City courthouse, Reuters reported.

In a company statement, Airvana claims Ericsson also misused technology from Airvana “to secretly develop with a Korean partner a knock-off product that would illegally compete with Airvana’s.” In addition, Ericsson was pushing Airvana to give it source code for Airvana’s software, in a move that would have let Ericsson benefit from the software after forcing Airvana out of business, the company statement adds.

“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. 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,” Randy Battat, CEO of Airvana, added in the press release. “Ericsson has misappropriated Airvana’s technology and used it to attack Airvana’s business. In order to protect our company, we are left with no alternative to litigation.”

“Ericsson is Airvana’s sole customer for the technology that provides all of Airvana’s current revenues,” Battat continued in the press release. “Ericsson’s course of conduct could put our company in jeopardy.”

Airvana is a U.S.-based maker of wireless telecommunications equipment. It employs over 200 workers in its Chelmsford, Mass., facility.

Ericsson did not provide an immediate comment on the allegations made by Airvana.

In other recent company news, Airvana reported it was awarded a U.S. patent developed by Philip To and Tugay Eyceoz for "resource allocation in a radio access network," TMCnet said.