The LEHMAN, Lee & Xu
China Patents Newsletter keeps you up to date on recent developments in China Patents law and news
Qualcomm Enters China Patents Wars
Qualcomm announced it has filed an action at the Intellectual Property Court in Beijing against Chinese mobile smartphone company Meizu (May-zoo) for alleged infringement.
Qualcomm alleges that Meizu has been using Qualcomm technologies without a license. The companies had been in negotiations to toward a license Qualcomm patents, but no agreement was reached.
Qualcomm, sees the infringement as “damaging to the mobile ecosystem” and “unfair to other licensees that are acting in good faith and respectful of patent rights.” The suit comes in the context of several recent public proclamations by Chinese authorities that Intellectual Property protection and enforcement is increasingly a priority.
Qualcomm had been under investigation by Chinese regulators as recently as last year and reached an agreement with authorities to reduce patent license payments for companies in China to use its technologies. Since that settlement, Qualcomm has signed patent-licensing agreements with several Chinese clients, including Huawei and Xiaomi.
It seems even if IP protection and enforcement is a priority for Chinese authorities, valuation will remain lower than international norms. We are watching the results of the current litigation against Meizu as a text case on how much protection foreign companies can really expect from Chinese IP courts.
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