Huawei sues Samsung for IPR infringement

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. has filed lawsuits against Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. for alleged infringement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), the Chinese firm said on Wednesday.
The lawsuits were filed with courts in California, U.S. and Shenzhen City in South China, with infringement claims over telecom patents and software, Huawei said.
The lawsuit came at a time when domestic smartphone makers like Huawei and Xiaomi are upsetting the market apple cart, which until now has been dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung.
Huawei said it was entitled to seek damages from companies that use its patents without proper licensing.
The company said in a statement that it was committed to fair, reasonable and indiscriminate licensing of its mobile telecom patents.
Ding Jianxin, head of Huawei intellectual property division, said the company had signed licensing agreements with dozens of companies.
Huawei said it had spent 9.2 billion dollars, or 15 per cent of the company’s 2015 revenue, on research into new technologies, products and wireless telecom standards.
Huawei has filed more patents than any other companies in the world, with 3,898 entries by 2015, according to data compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organisation.
According to tech consultancy Gartner, Samsung and Apple are the world’s top two smartphone makers, with a combined market share of 38 per cent.
Huawei is third with 8.3 per cent, followed by two other Chinese brands Oppo and Xiaomi.