Huawei has filed a lawsuit against the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer, MediaTek, for allegedly infringing on its intellectual property rights. Following its blacklisting by the US in 2019, Huawei has been taking legal action to collect unpaid royalties, and the lawsuit against MediaTek is part of this effort.
Huawei owns a significant number of patents related to mobile technology, including 20% of the world’s 5G patents, as well as many standard essential patents (SEPs) that are necessary to meet industry standards. These SEPs are licensed on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.
The license fees that Huawei can collect from MediaTek are expected to contribute to the company’s investment in research and development (R&D), showcasing its technological capabilities to the world. In 2022, Huawei generated USD 560 million in revenue from patents.
In addition to this lawsuit, Huawei has taken legal action against other companies to seek additional revenue sources in light of challenges in its smartphone business. Notably, Huawei previously sued 30 small and medium-sized Japanese companies for using its patented technologies without permission, and it currently has approximately 200 companies paying licensing fees.
Furthermore, Huawei has signed 5G cross-licensing agreements with major mobile technology companies, such as OPPO and Samsung, and holds cross-licensing agreements with European automakers, including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, and Porsche.
MediaTek, on the other hand, is a leading provider of application processors (APs) for smartphones globally. Its flagship Dimensity 9300 AP, known for its unique configuration that uses energy-efficient cores, is expected to be succeeded by the Dimensity 9400, rumored to feature a high-performance configuration including Cortex-X5 Prime and Cortex-X4 Prime CPU cores, as well as Cortex-A720 CPU cores. This upcoming chip is anticipated to be equipped in OPPO’s next-generation high-end smartphone model.
