Now the glove is on the other foot. After decades of foreign companies taking legal action over the alleged abuse of their copyright and the outright copying of their products, it’s time to turn the tables. And big ol’ Huawei has done it, against Amazon, right here in Jiangsu.
As per a media release yesterday, 27 October, Huawei Technology Co., Ltd. has filed cases against seven companies, including Amazon, accusing them of infringing invention-patent rights.
Those cases have been filed in the Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court of our very own Jiangsu Province.
The defendants are Renbao Information Technology (Kunshan) Co., Ltd.; Renbao Information Industry (Kunshan) Co., Ltd.; Renbao Electronic Technology (Kunshan) Co., Ltd.; Amazon Information Services (Beijing) Co., Ltd.; Amazon; Renbao Computer Industry Co., Ltd.; and Amazon Services.
It was initially said that the case will be heard at 13:30 on 8 December 8 in the Suzhou Court, but on account that it involves foreign enterprises based abroad, a significant delay is envisaged.
In recent years, Huawei has focused on technology research and development. According to the “2022 Chinese Enterprise R&D List”, released by the China Enterprise Confederation in mid October of this year, Huawei topped the list, with a total R&D expenditure in 2021 of ¥142.7 billion, a number which continues to rise.
According to Huawei’s 2021 financial report, the company holds more than 45,000 valid patent families (representing more than 110,000 patents in total). More than 90 percent are invention patents, reports The Paper.
In addition, Huawei ranked first in China’s State Intellectual Property Office and the European Patent Office in 2021, whilst last year it was placed fifth in the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Among the defendants, Renbao is one of the largest notebook-computer manufacturers in the world. It assembles products for HP, Dell and other giants, while maintaining OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) plants in Kunshan, Nanjing and other cities.
Some industry insiders are speculating that Huawei’s lawsuit may be related to the technology behind the screen in Amazon’s Kindle device, a part of the consumer-electronics field where Huawei and Amazon have a direct competitive relationship.
