Huawei has recently sued Samsung for patent infringement in Shenzhen, China and in California.   Samsung also announced it would countersue Huawei.  A copy of the California complaint is attached here. 

Huawei sued T-Mobile in the ED of Texas earlier in the year, and of course there was the earlier, much reported case against ZTE in Europe previously.  The ED Texas case seemed to be following the case of T-Mobile vs. Huawei, in Washington State, which was a theft of trade secrets matter.  In addition, the litigation against Samsung follows quickly on the recent news that Apple is now paying Huawei patent royalties.  There were also media reports earlier this year that Huawei and Ericsson renewed their patent license agreement.  

While these cases seem like continuing milestones in the patent smartphone wars, I believe there is another new development.  Press releases about Huawei asserting its patents in litigation and collecting royalties on its patents, also suggest that China’s stated plans to increase its IP royalty revenue have taken off.  It is not surprising that one of China’s leading overseas patent filers, Huawei, should be at the forefront of these efforts.

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