Huawei Files Patent Lawsuit against Samsung

 

Huawei has filed lawsuits in China and the US alleging Samsung Electronics illegally used technology related to 4G cellular communications, operating systems and user interface software without a licensing deal, making it first intellectual property challenge against the world's top mobile maker.

"We hope Samsung will ... stop infringing our patents and get the necessary license from Huawei, and work together with Huawei to jointly drive the industry forward," Ding Jianxing, President of Huawei's Intellectual Property Rights Department, said in a statement.

Samsung in defence, said it will take appropriate action to protect the company’s business interests without elaborating further.

Apple also sued Samsung in the United States in 2011, claiming the Korean maker used unlicensed technology and imitated the look of the iPhone. The pair subsequently filed a number of suits against each other in several other jurisdictions but agreed in August 2014 to drop all litigation outside the United States.

Huawei, which generates most of its revenue making telecommunications infrastructure, said it has been granted 50,377 patents globally as of Dec. 31.

Samsung, also the world's No.1 memory chip and television maker, said in a May 16 filing it held 110,145 patents globally at end-2015 and invested 14.8 trillion won $12.45 billion(N2.5tri) in research and development as well as intellectual property last year.