Huawei Takes Xiaomi to Court Over Patent Disputes
The Chinese State Intellectual Property Office announced it accepted the case brought forward by Huawei against Xiaomi for alleged patent infringement today. According to Huawei, four of its patents had been used without permission by Xiaomi.
The first patent in dispute is “Method and Device for Sending Control Signaling”. This basically deals with the way in which mobile networks send and receive signals, allowing for faster connection speeds and better transmission quality.
The second patent is “Method for Feeding Back ACK/NACK Information During Carrier Aggregation, Base Station, and User Equipment”. This relates to how devices can interact between different networks and also how feedback on signal status is sent and received.
The third patent, “Method and Devices for Obtaining Panoramic Images”, relates to the way in which wide-angle cameras are able to capture images across a large area. Huawei has accused Xiaomi of using its patented technology without authorization.
The fourth and final patent, “Lock Screen Method and Mobile Devices”, relates to the way in which mobile devices lock and unlock their screens. Huawei believes that Xiaomi has used this technology unlawfully.
Huawei alleges that Xiaomi has illegally used its patents for 4G or LTE technology. These patents are known as Standard Essential Patents (SEP). Huawei also alleges that Xiaomi has illegally used their smartphone camera and device unlock technologies, which are non-SEP.
It also alleges that Xiaomi has illegally used its smartphone camera and device unlock technologies, which are non-SEP.
Since the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office accepted the case brought forward by Huawei against Xiaomi, it is likely that further legal action will be taken.
Last year, Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group and Executive Director, made a statement alleging that some companies were engaging in the illegal use of Huawei’s patents without paying any royalties or fees. He also expressed his concern about these companies claiming ownership of the patented technology.
In response to this action from Huawei, Xiaomi issued a statement saying that both companies are negotiating for patent licensing and that they recognize the importance of intellectual property protection to promote innovation and benefit the public.
They added that China has various forms of resolution processes for patent disputes, which are being used in this case.
At this point, there has been no ruling on the case by a court yet, as both parties are still in negotiations regarding the patent licensing. It is uncertain when or if a ruling will be made, as the case could still potentially get resolved outside of court.
