Disputes over smartphone patents are not uncommon - just think of the "legendary" seven-year court battle between Samsung and Applem, completed in 2018. And another one may be on the horizon.
Huawei plans to start charging Samsung and Apple "reasonable" fees for access to its 5G technology patent database, according to Bloomberg. The head of its legal department, Song Liuping, was said to have promised that the tech giant would charge lower fees than its rivals Qualcomm, Nokia and Ericsson. More precisely, they should be capped at $2,50 for each smartphone sold (for comparison - Apple's Qualcomm for each iPhone charged three times as much, causing the US tech giants to face off in court).
According to the agency, Huawei's goal is to obtain 2019-1,2 billion dollars (roughly 1,3-26,3 billion crowns) from patent fees and licenses issued from 28,5 to this year. These funds are said to be reinvested in 5G technology research and are intended to help the company maintain its position as a leading supplier of equipment for 5G networks.
Considering that Huawei claims a relatively small amount compared to others, pro Apple and it shouldn't be a big problem for Samsung to make a deal with him. At this time, however, the position of the US government is not known. Huawei argues that ongoing sanctions that have prevented it from doing business with US companies should not prevent it from collecting patent fees because its patents are publicly available. Whether the administration of President Joe Biden agrees with such an interpretation remains to be seen.
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