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Ericsson loses ruling in Airvana trade secrets case

US-ERICSSON-COURT:Ericsson loses ruling in Airvana trade secrets case

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Massachusetts broadband network company Airvana Network Solutions Inc has won a preliminary injunction against Ericsson barring the Swedish telecommunications network equipment maker from using some hardware unless it employs Airvana software.

Airvana sued Ericsson last year for more than $330 million, claiming Ericsson stole Airvana's trade secrets and attempted to drive it out of business.

State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kapnick in Manhattan issued the injunction on Tuesday, ruling that Airvana had shown it was likely to succeed on the merits of its lawsuit and would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction were not granted.

The lawsuit claimed that Ericsson secretly worked with a South Korean partner to create "knock-off" hardware based on technology developed by Airvana that could then be sold to wireless carriers Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

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Related Keywords:US , ERICSSON , COURT

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