Fancy that, a Chinese manufacturer getting sued for not properly licensing a patent. In episode 5,104 of the ongoing drama of naughty Chinese manufacturers that DGAF, we revisit an eternal storyline starring two familiar characters. Meizu, the bad guy in our plot, is accused of using the righteous Qualcomm‘s patents for 3G and 4G radio standards and Qualcomm, having tired of Meizu’s stonewalling, is threatening legal consequences.
Now, as familiar as this may sound, this isn’t a typical patent litigation situation. Because China as a country doesn’t necessarily give a hoot about patent and licensing either, there is no straightforward process for bringing the legal hammer down on an infringing party. Instead, Qualcomm has filed a formal complaint to the Beijing Intellectual Property Court. It is then up to the Chinese authorities to decide if they GAF.
The long and the short of it is that, following being fined close to a billion dollars last year for anti-trust violations in the country, Qualcomm has been trying to negotiate a licensing agreement with Meizu – and many other Chinese manufacturers – for some time now. While Qualcomm claims that “more than 100 other companies have already accepted the rectification plan terms, including the largest Chinese mobile device suppliers,” Meizu still refuses to come to the negotiating table.
As Qualcomm’s evp Don Rosenberg notes in a press release: “Qualcomm’s technologies are at the heart of all mobile devices. Meizu is choosing to use these technologies without a license, which is not only unlawful, but is unfair to other licensees that are acting in good faith and respectful of patent rights, and ultimately damaging to the mobile ecosystem and consumers”.
Them sounds a long way from fighting words, but in the notoriously tricky Chinese market, that’s as close as we’re likely to get. Unfortunately, unless the Chinese authorities decide to act on Qualcomm’s complaint and take action against one of its own, Qualcomm can’t do a lot else but file formal complaints. This is why so many Chinese manufacturers have such a lax attitude towards patents and licensing.
What do you think about Qualcomm’s complaint? Thoughts on certain Chinese OEMs’ attitude towards patents?
0 comments:
Post a Comment