Xiaomi has had a very difficult year in its sales, with declines that were greater than those of its competitors at the top of the market, and now it has to deal with something new: a lawsuit from Huawei. It is suing Shaomi for alleged infringement of several patents.
Although the details are being published now, the complaint was submitted to the Chinese Intellectual Property Office already in January of this year, and after reviewing the request, it was decided to accept it for discussion. It follows that Xiaomi’s management will have to, at the very least, attend hearings to prove that the claim of its domestic rival is incorrect.
This is a claim for the unauthorized use, and again allegedly, of four registered Huawei patents. Two refer to the use of 4G technology, one refers to the way in which Xiaomi phones take panorama photos, and the fourth is related to the locking technology of the devices.
Huawei has complained many times over the years that companies are stealing its patents, including Chinese manufacturers. Last year the company stated that, “In some industries, including some companies in China, our designs are copied without our consent. Furthermore, some of our patents are being used without payment of the required patent fees. Such entities pass off these designs and patents as their own, even though they were originally created by us.”