A Chinese court has ordered Samsung to pay rival Chinese firm Huawei 80m yuan ($11.6 million £9.3 million) in damages, following a court battle over patent infringements.
Huawei filed the lawsuit against Samsung last May, following up with further filings for patent infrigement in Shenzhen, China and California over what it claims was unlicensed use of its 4G technology.
Huawei Device Co Ltd holds more than 50,000 technological patents and claimed Samsung infrigned on them with 20 different phones and tablets, including the Galaxy S7, without permission.
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In July, Samsung, which has recently been losing ground in the smartphone market to Huawei, countersued over six alleged patent infringements.
This new fuling means three Samsung Electronics units will have to pay the damages, while five of the company’s firms have been ordered to stop infringing Huawei’s copyright.
A spokesman for Huawei told the BBC: “Huawei notes the court’s decision in this case. Huawei believes that respecting and protecting the intellectual property of others enables all companies to make a return on our R&D investments.
“We maintain that respect for intellectual property promotes innovation and healthy, sustained growth in the industry.”
The Galaxy S7 was one of the phones alleged to have infringed upon Huawei’s patents
A Samsung spokesman told the BBC the company would be reviewing the decision before issuing a full response.
The spokespman added: “Over many years, Samsung Electronics has pioneered the development of innovative mobile technologies through continuous investment in R&D to provide consumers with a wide selection of innovative products.”
Huawei’s victory in China comes as the company faces a potential sales ban in the UK, unless it pays a US firm a fee for using its 4G patents.
The Chinese smartphone maker was ordered by the High Court of England and Wales to pay the US company, Unwired Planet, for use of patents it had acquired from Ericsson.
Huawei is reportedly still evaluating the decision.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
