Huawei wins on patent infringement battle against Samsung

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Chinese tech giant Huawei won a patent infringement lawsuit against South Korea smartphone rival Samsung on Thursday, according to information released by a Chinese court and this report from AP.

The Shenzhen Intermediate Court ruled in Huawei’s favor over two patents involving fourth generation (4G) phone technology. The judge also ordered the South Korean company to immediately stop selling or manufacturing products using the technology and to pay a small court fee.

Last April 2017, China’s Quanzhou Intermediate People’s Court also ruled against Samsung, ordering the company to pay Huawei $11.6 million in damages over another patent case.

However, the ruling did not cite specific phone models, so we have nothing to tell about that.

According to the court, it ruled in Huawei’s favor after finding that Samsung “maliciously delayed negotiations” that began in July 2011 and was “obviously at fault.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Samsung said in a statement that it would “thoroughly review the court’s decision and determine appropriate responses.” It didn’t disagree in the ruling.

What happens is that it will likely decrease Samsung’s sales (if they’ll immediately follow the court’s order). Surely, the court ruling has the potential to affect its market share significantly within the region.

It might be Samsung’s flagship devices that they’ll need to pull out in China, or some mid-range offerings. And if the court’s decision impacts the South Korean giant’s 4G products and services, it might be even more detrimental than what we just thought.