The Mannheim branch of the European Court of Justice (UPC) updated a lawsuit information, which caused a shock in the global technology community. HFI Innovation, a subsidiary of MediaTek, sued five Huawei companies for infringing European EP2689624, an LTE application called "Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel Search Space Configuration Method" with MediaTek as the original applicant.
This lawsuit is regarded by the industry as the global war between the two giants has escalated again, and there is no sign of easing the confrontation between the two sides.
The dispute between the two parties began in 2022. At that time, Huawei took the initiative to contact MediaTek, hoping that MediaTek would obtain Huawei's 5G SEP authorization, but the negotiations between the two parties broke down. MediaTek refused on the grounds that it did not comply with the FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) principle, and then the relationship between the two parties deteriorated.
In May 2024, after negotiations with MediaTek failed, Huawei took the lead in filing an infringement lawsuit against MediaTek in the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, accusing the latter of infringing its 5G and other communication technologies.
In response, MediaTek launched multiple lawsuits in July of the same year, including 4G/5G infringement, antitrust, and rate rulings in Chinese courts in Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou, and Beijing, as well as in Munich, Germany, and the UK, and sought injunctions in some cases.
Huawei did not stop, and subsequently filed lawsuits against MediaTek in courts in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou.
It is reported that the focus of the dispute between the two parties is mainly the "terminal-level" charging model or the "chip-level" charging model of licensing. At present, the main right holders charge terminals, such as charging smartphone manufacturers. However, the "chip-level" charging model advocated by Huawei is intended to break the industry practice of charging terminal equipment manufacturers and directly charge license fees to chip manufacturers. From the perspective of licensing efficiency, since the world's major chip manufacturers are concentrated in only a few giants, "chip-level" charging may be more operational for licensors (higher concentration) than facing a large number of terminal manufacturers.
However, in the process of contacting MediaTek, the two companies have been unable to reach an agreement on price issues, so they embarked on the path of judicial ruling. According to incomplete statistics, the two parties have filed at least 10 lawsuits against each other around the world. Most of these cases are still under trial and no final ruling has been made.
It is worth noting that the venues chosen by both parties are of great strategic significance. Huawei chose Chinese courts as the main battlefield, while MediaTek focused on European and British courts. This choice reflects the complexity of global jurisdiction - British courts tend to support the setting of global FRAND rates, while Chinese courts pay more attention to protecting the interests of local companies.
This battle will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the global communications industry, but the current situation is still unclear. Some industry insiders predict that the two sides may eventually reach a settlement. Regardless of the outcome, this contest will become a landmark event in the history of global technology intellectual property development, profoundly affecting the balance between future technological innovation and protection.
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