Chinese ICT services provider Huawei confirmed it has filed a patent infringement suit against Korean company Samsung relating to technology used in its smartphones.
Huawei said the lawsuits have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court. The Chinese company said Samsung is currently using its patented technology in its phones without a license.
“We hope Samsung will respect Huawei’s R&D investment and patents, stop infringing our patents and get the necessary license from Huawei, and work together with Huawei to jointly drive the industry forward,” said Ding Jianxing, president of Huawei’s intellectual property rights department.
Huawei also said it is committed to licensing its patented technology on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms, but added that it is entitled to reasonable compensation from companies that use its technology without such a license.
In 2015, the Chinese vendor invested 59.6 billion yuan ($9.2 billion), or 15% of its annual revenue, in the research and development of new technologies, new products and wireless communications standards.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics confirmed the company is reviewing the legal documents, The Korea Times reported.
“We are going to file a countersuit against Huawei,” said Samsung EVP Ahn Seung-ho, in the report. Samsung said the allegations made by the Chinese vendors are “groundless.”
According to the report, Huawei claims Samsung smartphones infringe upon 11 of its standard-essential patents.
Bharti Airtel completes acquisition of additional spectrum from Videocon
In other APAC news, Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel completed its acquisition of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band in six circles from Videocon Telecommunications.
Airtel paid 44.28 billion rupees ($653.42 million) for 2×5 megahertz blocks in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh East and Uttar Pradesh West.
The Indian telco recently reached a deal to acquire spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band from rival telco Aircel. With this acquisition, Bharti Airtel will be able to launch LTE services in Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Assam, the Northeast, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha.
Bharti Airtel had 245.8 million mobile subscribers at the end of January, according to the latest figures from the country’s telecom regulator TRAI. This figure represents a market share of approximately 24%.
