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An intermediary court in the city of Quanzhou in China’s Fujian Province ruled that three of Samsung Electronics’ subsidiaries in China had violated Huawei’s patents

According to Samsung Electronics and a report on a state-run media outlet called Quanzhou.net on Apr. 6, an intermediary court in the city of Quanzhou in China’s Fujian Province ruled that three of Samsung Electronics’ subsidiaries in China had violated Huawei’s patents, and the court ordered those subsidiaries to pay 80 million yuan (US$11.60 million) in damages. In May 2016, Huawei filed lawsuits in a US federal court in northern California and a Chinese court in Shenzhen, claiming that more than 20 smartphones and tablets manufactured by Samsung Electronics, including the Galaxy S7, had infringed its patents. In June, the company filed an additional lawsuit, and that was the case addressed by this ruling.

Huawei is reportedly claiming Samsung Electronics infringed on commercial patents related to 4G communications standards and user interface technology. In addition to Samsung Electronics, Huawei has also filed suit against Google and Apple.

Samsung Electronics, which has called Huawei’s claims “absurd,” filed a countersuit last July in an intellectual property rights court in Beijing.

“This is just the first trial ruling. We plan to examine the ruling content before responding,” Samsung Electronics said.

By Kim Jae-seob, staff reporter

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