Following Huawei’s action to sue Samsung for allegedly infringing some of its smartphone technology patents a couple of months ago, it comes as no surprise that Samsung have now returned the favour, suing Huawei in China for allegedly infringing six of their patents through the manufacture and sale of a number of Huawei’s smartphones.

Samsung are no stranger to high profile patent disputes, being embroiled in a long and expensive dispute with Apple. Huawei, on the other hand, are now the second largest manufacturer (to Samsung) of Android based smartphones, so they probably consider it an appropriate time to stand up for their intellectual property against their dominant rival.

It will be interesting to follow this dispute to see how it develops. My feeling is that it will not end soon, it will spread to other countries (particularly as Huawei look to expand their market outside of China) and will involve more patents before the stakes become high enough for Samsung and Huawei to settle.

“The lawsuit, filed in Beijing’s Intellectual Property Court, seeks damages of 161 million Chinese yuan ($24.1 million), alleging that some of Huawei’s smartphones, including its Mate8 smartphone and its Honor-branded lineup of handsets, infringed on Samsung’s patents. The lawsuit also calls on the court to block Huawei and another company, Beijing Hengtongda Department Store Co., from producing or selling the devices, according to a court document.”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/samsung-sues-huawei-over-patent-infringement-1469153204