Huawei sues Samsung for patent infringement; the mobile phone industry is already a "three-legged race"

On the 25th, Chinese technology giant Huawei sued Samsung in both China and the United States for patent infringement. Samsung said it would respond to the lawsuit and did not rule out the possibility of counter-suing Huawei. Chinese technology and economic observer Shun Yu told the Global Times that lawsuits like Huawei's against Samsung are relatively common in the global mobile phone market. Although the result is still unpredictable, the two sides rarely drag it out until the day of the judgment, and it is expected that a settlement will be reached in the end.

"Errenzhuan" becomes "three-legged tripod"

In a reply to the Global Times on the 25th, Huawei said that it had filed intellectual property lawsuits against Samsung in the Northern District Court of California and the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court of China. In the lawsuit, Huawei demanded that Samsung compensate Huawei for its intellectual property infringement, including high-value patents related to communication technology and software used in Samsung mobile phones. In response to Huawei's lawsuit, Samsung responded on the 25th that it would "evaluate the lawsuit and safeguard Samsung's business interests in an appropriate form." Samsung executives in charge of intellectual property said that Samsung would not sit idly by and would not rule out counterclaiming against Huawei.

What patents are involved in Huawei's lawsuit against Samsung? Reuters said that these intellectual property rights include patents related to cellular communication technology and software used in Samsung mobile phones. Wang Baoping, editor-in-chief of People's Post and Telecommunications, said in an interview with the Global Times on the 25th that the appearance, camera and display of mobile phones we usually mention are not the core technologies of smart phones, while operating systems and user interface software are relatively critical to smart phones.

The Financial Times of the United Kingdom stated that due to Huawei's "explosive wealth" in patent technology rights, the previous "two-person show" in the field of smartphones is turning into a "three-legged race". In the first quarter of this year, Huawei (ranked by sales) was the world's third largest smartphone manufacturer, with a market share of 8.3% from 5.4% in the same period last year. Samsung's market share was 23%, and Apple's was 15%. According to data from the World Intellectual Property Organization, Huawei was the company that applied for the most international patents for two consecutive years in 2014 and 2015. Huawei signed a series of patent cross-licensing agreements with Apple last year and charged Apple patent fees in accordance with the agreements, but Samsung and Huawei had not signed similar agreements before.

South Korean media calls Huawei "provocative"

"Provocation" is the word Yonhap News Agency used on the 25th to describe the patent lawsuit launched by Huawei against Samsung. Given that Samsung Electronics has publicly stated that it will respond to the lawsuit, the outside world believes that Samsung is far more likely to fight back than to settle in the future. Samsung has previously engaged in a protracted lawsuit with Apple, and the future dispute between Huawei and Samsung may become Samsung's second global patent lawsuit. Some analysts believe that although most of the patent technology disputes between major telecom operators in the world have ended in settlement, given that Huawei has always emphasized the "wolf nature" of the company, it is not ruled out that the patent dispute with Samsung may become a long-term one.

South Korea's Asia Economy reported on the 25th that Huawei's lawsuit against Samsung Electronics for patent infringement is likely aimed at the US smartphone market. Currently, Chinese smartphone manufacturers are growing rapidly and their global market share is increasing. Huawei began to attack the US market this year, but the North American smartphone market is still dominated by Apple, Samsung, LG, etc. It is not easy for Huawei to gain market share here.

Who has a better chance of winning?

The Financial Times quoted industry experts as saying that, referring to the patent lawsuit between Apple and Samsung, the "patent war" between Huawei and Samsung is likely to turn into a war of attrition, but the stalemate will not be beneficial to Samsung, whose market share has declined relatively.

Wang Baoping believes that it is worth noting that Chinese companies were often the defendants in such patent lawsuits in the past, but this time Huawei became the plaintiff, which shows that Chinese companies have strong technical strength after years of dedicated technology research and development. Wang Baoping estimates that Huawei has a relatively high chance of winning, but such lawsuits are generally not resolved quickly, and the two sides may eventually sit down and talk to jointly promote technological progress.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.