Sony is expecting to drop the Ericsson name from the SonyEricsson joint venture as early as next year once it completes the recently announced buy out of Ericsson's stake in the company.

Despite Sony's acquisition of the company, some had expected the joint brandname to survive for a couple of years at least.

A senior executive from the Japanese conglomerate, Kristian Tear told the Times of India that the company will drop the Ericsson name by the middle of next year, and will aim to become a pure-smartphone company.

"A lot of planning goes into getting the branding right but we will be done by middle of next year. It will also mean that the marketing and advertising investments will go up." Tear added.

With full control of the company, the mobile phone maker is now looking to leverage more from its parent company. "Sony is the world's biggest entertainment company. We were earlier a 50-50 JV, but now that we are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corp. We expect to gain from its assets on the content , technology and brand side," he added.