Chinese smartphone giant Huawei is suing rival Samsung over alleged patent infringement, taking its South Korean counterpart to court in the U.S. and in China.
In the U.S., the dispute is related to the 4G wireless standard. In China, the suit relates to 4G standards as well as other smartphone functions.
“Huawei believes that industry players should work together to push the industry forward through open, joint innovation,” Ding Jianxing, President of Huawei's Intellectual Property Rights Department said in a statement. “While respecting others' patents, we will also protect our own.”
Huawei didn’t disclose the monetary figure it is looking to get from Samsung. In the release, Jianxing added that Huawei has signed dozens of cross-licensing deals with competitors through the years and signaled a willingness to work together with Samsung in a similar fashion to “jointly drive the industry forward.”
While Huawei is going after Samsung, the company is also seeking recognition for its global standing. It operates in more than 170 countries and racked up $62 billion in sales last year. Nearly half of its 160,000 employees work in research and development and Huawei spent $92 billion or about 15% of its revenues last year on R&D, mostly related to mobile phones and cellular network technology. It has been granted north of 50,000 patents, and according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, has topped the list of international patents filed, two years in a row.
Such numbers contradict what Huawei vice president for external affairs Bill Plummer says is an “outdated” perception, the belief that China “is not where innovation happens.”
Samsung has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Email: ebaig@usatoday.com ; Follow USA TODAY Personal Tech Columnist @edbaig on Twitter
Update: Samsung issued the following statement: "We will thoroughly review the complaint and take appropriate action to defend Samsung's business interests."
