Huawai wins IPR violation case against Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics Co has been found to have infringed the intellectual property rights (IPRs) of Huawei Technologies Co and ordered to pay a compensation of 80 million yuan ($11.6 million) to Huawei.

The Quanzhou Intermediate People’s Court on Thursday ruled after the first trial that three subsidiaries of Samsung in the Chinese mainland have violated the IPRs of Huawei and have to pay for the reparation jointly, the Beijing Business Today reported on Thursday.

After analysis and investigation, Huawei found that more than 20 products of Samsung, including smartphones and tablet computers, were infringing the copyrights of Huawei.

A spokesman for Huawei said it welcomed the court’s decision. Samsung said it will decide on the response to the court’s decision after reviewing the ruling, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Huawei announced in May 2016 that it was suing Samsung in both China and the US for alleged infringement of its smartphone patents, including unlicensed use of its cellular communication technology and software in Samsung’s smartphones, according to a statement Huawei e-mailed to the Global Times in May 2016.

Huawei said it is entitled to seek damages from companies that use its patents without proper licensing.

The company said in a statement that it is committed to fair, reasonable and unbiased licensing of its mobile telecom patents, according to a Xinhua News Agency report in May 2016.

Huawei applied for the patent of the involved technology to the State Intellectual Property Office of China in 2010 and was granted the patent right on June 5, 2011, the Beijing Business Today reported.

According to US-based tech consultancy conpany Gartner, Samsung and Apple are the world’s top two smartphone makers, with a combined market share of 38 percent.

Huawei is third with 8.3 percent, followed by two other Chinese brands Oppo and Xiaomi, according to the report of Xinhua.