LG Electronics said Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit against US-based rival BLU over alleged patent infringements.

The company said the US phone manufacturer has infringed five Long Term Evolution standard-related patents owned by LG. 

LG has held the largest number of LTE and LTE-Advanced standard essential patents in the US for five straight years since 2012, according to TechIPM, which analyzes US patents.

BLU is the sixth-biggest American smartphone maker and sold about 5.2 million smartphones last year.

LG has requested a ban on the sales of BLU smartphones with the US International Trade Commission. It filed the damages lawsuit with a Delaware court.

The Korean firm said it has sent warnings to BLU four times since last year, however, the US firm responded to none of them.

“LG will protect the legitimate rights to its patented technologies and respond with stern measures to the unfair use of its intellectual properties,” said Jeon Saeng-gyu, head of the patent center at LG.

It is the first time that LG has filed a patent suit against a handset maker, the company said. A preliminary judgement is likely to be made during the first half of next year and a final one in the second half.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)