Huawei has filed lawsuits against Samsung in the United States and China over smartphone technology patent infringement.
Huawei is seeking compensation from Samsung and does not want to block sales of the Korean company. Huawei alleges that Samsung infringed as many as 12 Huawei patents relating to 4G technology, user interface and operating system in its smartphones without a license agreement.
"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," said Ding Jianxing, the president of Huawei's Intellectual Property Rights Department.
Samsung is accused of using Huawei technology in some of its flagship devices such as the Galaxy S2, which was launched about five years ago.
Huawei claims that the company offered a fair charge to Samsung for using its patents, but the Korean company refused to pay.
"We have a good history of licensing and cross-licensing of our peers. We hope that Samsung will do the right thing," says William Plummer, a Huawei spokesman.
Samsung wrote in a statement that the company will examine the allegations and will take necessary actions to defend its business interests.
The latest lawsuit is the first by a Chinese handset maker against Samsung. Many smartphone makers from China are giving stiff competition to well-known brands such as Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC and more in China as well as other parts of the world.
Samsung is the leader of the global smartphone market, and it has presence in many countries across the world. Chinese company Huawei has a strong presence in China, and it is slowly expanding its reach in other countries. Huawei has become the third largest mobile phone vendor in the world just after Samsung and Apple.
"Huawei's continued domestic dominance, combined with a growing presence outside of China, enabled it to capture the number 3 position worldwide in 1Q16. Shipment volume for Huawei climbed from 17.4 million units in 1Q15 to 27.5 million this quarter for year-over-year growth of 58.4%," says an International Data Corporation (IDC) report. "Huawei's two-pronged approach with a focus on both premium and entry-level devices proved successful in China as well as in many developed European markets."
Samsung has been involved in a number of patent infringement court battles in the U.S. and other countries. In 2011, Apple accused Samsung of copying design aspect of its iPhone. Both the companies filed various lawsuits against each other, but in 2014, they agreed to drop all lawsuits outside the U.S.
Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns | Flickr
