Telecommunications supplier Ericsson said Friday it’s suing Samsung Electronics for allegedly infringing on cell-phone-related patents, a sign that cooperation in the industry could be fading as competition heats up.

Äse Lindskog, director of media relations at Ericsson, said No. 3 cell phone maker Samsung violated about 10 patents relating to mobile network standards used around the world including GSM, GPRS, and EDGE. Samsung licensed the technologies in 2002, but the licenses expired at the end of December, Ms. Lindskog said.

Ms. Lindskog said the firms have been negotiating to renew the licenses for almost a year but were unable to reach an agreement.

“This is quite uncommon within the industry,” she said.

The news comes as the world awaits word on another high-profile patent case in the telecommunications industry, this one involving the maker of the BlackBerry wireless email device Research In Motion and patent holding company NTP. The outcome could determine whether or not the BlackBerry service in the United States is turned off (see All Eyes on BlackBerry Judge).

Ericsson filed lawsuits in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands, Ms. Lindskog said. Sony Ericsson, the cell phone joint venture between Sony and Ericsson, has joined the lawsuit.

Ms. Lindskog said Ericsson declined to specify how much money it was seeking, but said “it’s a rather big number that we’re talking about.”

“We have the industry’s largest patent portfolio, we have paid enormous costs for the past year for developing GSM, GPRS, and EDGE technology, and we want to get some compensation for that,” she said.

SungIn Cho, a spokesperson for Samsung Electronics, said Samsung Electronics has a broad patent portfolio covering all aspects of its business.

“Samsung recognizes the value of its intellectual property rights and, as such, Samsung is dedicated to respecting the valid intellectual property rights of others,” she said. “Consistent with Samsung’s policy regarding all litigation matters, Samsung will vigorously advocate and defend its rights in this matter.”