Huawei Hit with Lawsuit Over Patent Licensing Practices

Huawei, the embattled Chinese tech giant, is facing yet another legal challenge as it was hit with a lawsuit over alleged patent licensing practices. The suit, filed by InterDigital Inc., a US-based technology research and development company, accuses Huawei of violating its obligation to license its standard-essential patents on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

InterDigital claims that Huawei has been demanding excessive fees for its standard-essential patents related to wireless communications technologies, which are necessary for any company to produce mobile devices that are compliant with global standards.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of California, seeks to stop Huawei from continuing its allegedly unfair licensing practices and to obtain damages for the damages InterDigital has incurred as a result of Huawei’s actions.

InterDigital’s Chief Executive Officer, William Merritt, said in a statement that the company had been trying to negotiate a fair and reasonable licensing deal with Huawei for several years but had been unsuccessful. “We are left with no other choice but to seek legal recourse to protect our rights and interests,” Merritt said.

Huawei has not yet commented on the lawsuit, but it is not the first time the company has faced legal challenges over its patent licensing practices. In 2019, Huawei was hit with a similar lawsuit by another US-based technology company, Conversant Wireless Licensing S.A.R.L., which accused Huawei of violating its FRAND obligations by demanding excessive fees for its standard-essential patents.

Huawei has been under intense pressure in recent years, with the US government imposing trade restrictions on the company over concerns about its alleged ties to the Chinese government and the risk of espionage. The US has also been pushing other countries to exclude Huawei from their 5G networks, citing national security concerns.

The Chinese government has denied any allegations of wrongdoing by Huawei and has accused the US of using national security as a pretext to suppress Chinese tech companies and maintain its technological dominance.

The lawsuit against Huawei by InterDigital is likely to further complicate the company’s already troubled legal and regulatory situation. It remains to be seen how the lawsuit will play out, but it is clear that Huawei will face a tough legal battle as it seeks to defend its patent licensing practices.

The outcome of the case could also have wider implications for the tech industry, as it could set a precedent for how standard-essential patents are licensed and could have implications for other companies that own such patents.

As the legal battle unfolds, it will be interesting to see how Huawei responds and whether it will make any changes to its patent licensing practices in the future.