UK Supreme Court Rules Against Huawei, Orders Payment of Patent Royalties

Prohibition of Sale in Case of Appeal

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] On the 26th (local time), CNBC reported that the UK Supreme Court ruled against Huawei, China's largest telecommunications equipment company, in a patent dispute with the US patent management specialist company Unwired Planet (UPI).

Accordingly, Huawei must pay the patent royalties at the level determined by the court to Unwired Planet. If it refuses, sales within the UK are expected to be banned.

Huawei has been embroiled in a long-running lawsuit over intellectual property rights with the US company UPI for several years.

In 2013, UPI purchased about 2,000 telecommunications patents from Ericsson, and in March of the following year, filed patent lawsuits in the UK against three companies: Huawei, Google, and Samsung. Subsequently, Google and Samsung reached settlements and reconciled, but the lawsuit with Huawei continued for a long time.

Huawei argued that the court deciding the level of patent royalties should be located in China, and further appealed to the Supreme Court, claiming that license fees should only be paid for sales within the UK, not for global sales.

The UK Supreme Court dismissed Huawei's appeal, ruling that "the UK court has jurisdiction according to the standards of regulatory patents agreed upon by the mobile telecommunications industry."

In other words, the UK court can make decisions regarding licenses worldwide.

Bloomberg reported that disputes among companies worldwide continue over who will reap the profits from fundamental technologies in the wireless communication field, and regulatory authorities and courts are grappling with how to value fundamental technology patents and whether patent holders have the right to restrict the use of patents.

Regarding standard technology patents, Huawei stated, "We will continue to advocate a balanced position," adding, "It is important for innovation that brings numerous benefits to our industry and society."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.