Amazon and Huawei end all patent litigation with cross-licensing deal

According to a Huawei press release, the new global cross-licence agreement means all pending litigation between Amazon and Huawei is at an end. The terms of the agreement remain confidential. Amazon was facing multiple cases in German courts after Huawei sued the company in both Munich and Düsseldorf concerning Wifi 6 and Wifi 5 patents.

Huawei has also reached a deal with mobile communication company vivo.

Sales ban in Germany

On 15 December 2023, Munich Regional Court found Amazon’s own wifi routers infringed Huawei patent EP 3 334 112. As result, the court prohibited two European subsidiaries of Amazon and Eero – a manufacturer of wifi routers also owned by Amazon – from selling their Wifi-6-capable products in Germany.

Huawei had sued for injunctive relief, information and accounting, destruction, recall and damages (case ID: 7 O 10988/22).

In order to enforce the judgment, Huawei needed to make a security deposit of €4.5 million. Amazon had permission to appeal against the judgment, but JUVE Patent is not aware whether Amazon took this step.

Narrow escape

Had the ruling been upheld, Amazon would have had to compensate Huawei for the damages it has suffered since 19 March 2020. The December judgment was part of a larger dispute over Wifi 6 patents.

Huawei sued Amazon over another Wifi 6 patent in Munich (case ID: 7 O 10987/22), with the court scheduling a hearing for March 2024. Huawei had also sued Amazon in Düsseldorf and Munich over a Wifi 5 patent. The two courts had not yet set a date for the oral hearings in these cases.

However, as a result of the current licensing agreement, Amazon no longer faces this threat. Scott Hayden, vice president of IP for Amazon, says, “Amazon respects Huawei’s worldwide patent portfolio, innovations, and contributions to the standardisation process. Amazon also respects Huawei’s efforts to licence its patents to companies like Amazon, which frequently use industry technical standards when inventing new products and services for customers.”

Head of Huawei’s IP Rights Department, Alan Fan, says, “Huawei is pleased to exchange patent rights with Amazon.”

Huawei reaches second deal

Furthermore, Huawei has also signed an agreement with vivo. According to a press release, the two companies have agreed on a global patent cross-licensing deal covering cellular SEPs, including 5G.

There was no pending litigation between the two parties. Alan Fan says, “Huawei is pleased to have reached this agreement with vivo through amicable negotiation.”

Vivo signed a cross-licence patent agreement with Nokia in February 2024, which ended pending litigation between the two companies in Munich and Mannheim concerning 5G SEPs. Parallel proceedings were also ongoing in India, China, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Wider offensive

Huawei has sued multiple companies over its Wifi 6 and Wifi 5 patents. In addition to Amazon, the Chinese mobile phone company has also sued Netgear at the Düsseldorf Regional Court.

After the Düsseldorf court dismissed one of Huawei’s lawsuits and suspended the second, the company escalated its dispute with Netgear to the Unified Patent Court. Huawei’s lawsuit at the UPC’s Munich local division was one of the first SEP proceedings at the new court (case ID: ACT_459771/2023). According to the website www.upc.beetz.nl, Netgear has filed a counterclaim of revocation with the UPC.

Furthermore, Huawei filed two infringement suits against Fritzbox manufacturer AVM at the Munich Regional Court. In November, according to press reports, the court ordered AVM to cease and desist. The court was of the opinion that Wifi-6-capable AVM products infringed Huawei’s EP 3 337 077. AVM has since appealed against the ruling.

Back in 2022, Huawei also sued automotive group Stellantis over mobile phone patents that play a role in car connectivity. The Netherlands-based company manufactures about six million cars a year under the Fiat, Opel, Peugeot and Citroën brands.