New licensing agreement settles lawsuits between the two companies
InterDigital and Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi have struck a global licensing deal which resolves legal disputes between the two companies over Xiaomi’s use of InterDigital’s patents covering various mobile technologies.
The two companies were involved in lawsuits both in China and in India over different aspects of the technology use and licensing rates for some of InterDigital’s standard essential patents (SEPs). With the new agreement in place, both companies have agreed to dismiss all pending legal proceedings. The licensing agreement covers InterDigital’s SEPs for 3G, 4G and 5G cellular, Wi-Fi and High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC).
“Xiaomi has continuously invested in core standards research to emerge as a top contributor to standard essential technologies in the world,” said Paul Lin, Xiaomi’s VP of global business development and IP strategy, in a prepared statement. “In the past year, the Xiaomi and InterDigital teams worked hard to understand each other’s needs and diligently seek to narrow the gaps. I’m glad, now that all disputes are resolved between the two parties, Xiaomi can remain laser-focused on bringing innovative products to market.”
Eeva Hakoranta, who is chief licensing officer at InterDigital, said the company is “very pleased to conclude this agreement with Xiaomi, which recognizes our long-term investment in research and innovation in standards-based technologies and the strength and breadth of our patent portfolio across several key technologies. This deal adds one of the world’s leading smartphone manufacturers to the approximately 80 companies, including Apple, Huawei, and Samsung, which have taken licenses to InterDigital’s extensive portfolio. Adding Xiaomi now allows us to offer our patented technology to millions more consumers around the world while working constructively with an industry leader.”
According to figures from analyst firm IDC that were released this week, Xiaomi and fellow Chinese smartphone maker Oppo saw the most year-over-year growth in market share. Xiaomi saw its shipments rise from 28.5 million in the second quarter of last year — about 10% of the market — to more than 53 million, or nearly 17% of the overall shipment volume. Its growth pushed it into second place in the market for the first time and bumped Apple to third place.
