Sweden's Ericsson has sued UK-based mobile phone firm Sendo for infringements on its GSM and GPRS handset technology patents, the telecom equipment maker said on Wednesday. Ericsson said in a statement it wanted monetary damages from the privately held firm as well as an injunction against the continued sale and marketing of Sendo's mobile phones. "We believe that Sendo is using Ericsson patented technology, but they have so far not signed a license agreement with Ericsson. Under these circumstances we have no choice but to take Sendo to court," the company said.
Sendo sells mobile phones to operators that need tailored designs and software and has signed deals with Britain's Vodafone and Spain's Telefonica.
With 5 million phones sold last year, Sendo is a tiny player in a market that totalled 684 million units in 2004. It had sales of $420 million and 300 staff. Sendo was not immediately available for comment.