An ongoing legal dispute between Huawei and Samsung seems to be heating up, as a Chinese court this week ruled against the South Korean giant, believing it to be guilty of infringing on a wireless communication patent owned by its Chinese competitor.
The dispute stems from earlier filings by the company in 2016, in both China and the U.S., that deal with 20 patents pertaining to wireless communication, operating systems and UI elements. Of these, a Shenzhen judge this week found the South Korean tech firm to be guilty of infringing on precisely one wireless communication patent, and has asked the company to stop the distribution of all devices that use the technology in question. It"s not immediately clear which devices will be affected as a result of this sales ban. Samsung was also asked to pay a small court fee.
Huawei, which recently surpassed Apple in global smartphone market share, won a similar victory in April of last year, when another court in Quanzhou awarded the company $11.6 million in damages by Samsung for patent infringement.
Samsung has decided to hit back at its Chinese rival, with a countersuit involving six counts of alleged patent infringement, whose outcome is still pending. The company has issued a statement suggesting it is reviewing the decision by the Chinese court and will determine its response at a later date, leaving it unclear if the company will appeal the decision.