Qualcomm is suing this popular Chinese smartphone maker, here’s why

Qualcomm

Qualcomm, which is the biggest chip supplier to Android phones, has filed a lawsuit against one of China’s well-known smartphone maker. According to a report by The Financial Times, US-based chipmaker is suing Transsion Holdings and a lawsuit has been filed in India.

As per the report, Qualcomm has alleged that Transsion violated four non-standard essential patents. Transsion has brands like Tecno, Infinix, iTel under its portfolio.

The report quotes Ann Chaplin, Qualcomm’s general counsel, who told The Financial Times, “Qualcomm has sued Transsion to protect our patent rights and help restore a level playing field for all our licensees.”  Chaplin also mentioned that Transsion declined to accept a licence from Qualcomm for the majority of its mobile products, so it had no option but to pursue “litigation to enforce our rights”.

Interestingly, Transsion is one of the few Android smartphone makers that doesn’t use Qualcomm chipsets. For most of its phones under Tecno and Infinix brands, the company goes for Mediatek processors.

What does Transsion have to say?

According to The Financial Times report, a Transsion spokesperson said it “respects the intellectual property rights of third parties” and added that the company is willing to reach an IP licence agreement with patent holders through “friendly negotiations”. “We have signed a 5G standard patent licence agreement with Qualcomm and are in the process of fulfilling that agreement,” the spokesperson added.

This isn’t the first time Transsion is being sued for IP violations. In 2019, Chinese smartphone maker Huawei also filed a lawsuit against Transsion.