STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson said on Tuesday it had sued Indian handset maker Micromax and its distributor for infringement of wireless patent rights.

Ericsson was confirming an earlier report in the Economic Times of India that it had sued after Micromax refused to sign license agreements for several wireless technologies.

    "It is once again about FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms)," Ericsson spokeswoman Karin Hallstan said. She declined to comment further.

    Ericsson's 30,000-plus patent portfolio covers much of the technology that enables both mobile phones and the networks that support them to work.

Rivals hold other so-called essential standard patents and the industry has agreed a system of licensing on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms (FRAND) to ensure no one can block the development of mobile communications.

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(Reuters)