Qualcomm takes Meizu to court in the USA, Germany and France

As we have put it before – it seems Chinese authorities and manufacturers don’t care too much about patenting and licensing, so Qualcomm is taking the fight to other lands. After official complaints and threats to take Meizu to court for allegedly using Qualcomm’s 3G and 4G radio standards with no authorization, there seems to be no agreement in place.

And odds are they simply couldn’t agree with the terms, because Meizu did tell Android Authority they were willing to negotiate directly. But Qualcomm obviously disagrees with the validity of this statement.

“Meizu’s refusal to negotiate a license agreement in good faith and its sales and distribution of infringing products around the world leave Qualcomm with no choice but to protect our patent rights through these additional legal proceedings.” – Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel at Qualcomm

Now, the San Diego-based chip maker is taking Meizu to court in the USA, Germany and France. To be more exact, they have filed complaints and actions with the USA International Trade Commission (ITC), the German Mannheim Regional Court and the French authorities.

Qualcomm paid around $1 billion to settle an antitrust investigation brought by the Chinese authorities earlier this year.

What will become of this? Only time will tell, but Qualcomm doesn’t seem like an easy contender in court. They are a strong force in the market and will probably protect their technology with teeth and nails. The company actually makes the bulk of its revenues from licensing its technology patents, so the stakes are high.