On October 26, Huawei filed a court case against Amazon for the alleged infringement of invention patent rights. The trial will begin in Suzhou on December 8 against the American e-commerce company and two of its subsidiaries, as well as Taiwan-based computer manufacturer Compal Electronics and three of its subsidiaries.
At present, industry insiders are speculating that Huawei’s patent court case may be related to the e-ink display found on Amazon’s Kindle Scribe. In March, Huawei launched its MatePad Paper, an e-note tablet with stylus support, which delivered more than 110,000 units in the three months following its launch. Soon after that, Amazon launched the Kindle Scribe, which also happens to be an e-note tablet (the company’s first), pitching itself in direct competition with the Chinese firm.
As such, Huawei’s latest move reflects its efforts to further secure its leading position in the global information and communications technology area. While patent right disputes are common in global commercial competition as a way to gain revenue and restrain the development of rivals, Huawei’s CEO Ren Zhengfei insists that the dispute is a matter of self-defence rather than profit.
“Huawei’s move sets an example for Chinese companies to defend their rights in disputes with foreign companies, and it also encourages positive competition among market participants, which will create a healthy environment for industry development,” noted Liu Dingding, a veteran analyst in the technology industry.
Today, Huawei stands among world leaders in granted patents. According to Huawei’s 2021 financial report, the tech giant holds over 110,000 active patents across 45,000 patent families in the world, of which 90% consist of invention patents alone. In that same year, Huawei ranked first in terms of the number of patents granted by IP regulators in China and the EU. Additionally, it is fifth in granted patents in the US, a country where it is unable to do business.
All things considered, as the actual infringing patents have yet to be disclosed, the public will have to wait to watch the court case unfold as Huawei embarks on its global patent rights protection campaign.
