Samsung Loses Patent Infringement Case in China

Samsung Electronics has reportedly been ordered to pay compensation to a Chinese company for violating a patent for a dual-mode cell phone.

The Intermediate People's Court in Hangzhou, a city in eastern China, ordered Samsung to pay 50 million yuan (US$7.3 million) to Holley Communications (Holleycomm), according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

However, Holleycomm is not satisfied with the damages and intends to seek more from Samsung, the report said.

"We are sincere to hold discussions with Samsung in an attempt to resolve the issue of compensation," said Ge Chen, an executive director at Holleycomm, quoted by Xinhua.

A Samsung Electronics spokeswoman in Seoul declined to comment on the Xinhua report. "We haven't been notified by the court," she said.

Holley filed suit against Samsung last year, comparing its lawsuit to demands by foreign vendors that Chinese phone makers pay royalties on their patents.

"With the big patent stick in hand, foreign brands have imposed a heavy pressure on the development of the domestic camp of mobile phone manufacturers," Holleycomm said in an April 2007 statement.

The patent at issue, filed in 2002, is called "Methods and devices of CDMA/GSM dual-mode mobile communications," and refers to phones designed to support different mobile standards.

Local operator China United Communications Group used to run mobile networks based on GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). Dual-mode handsets allowed subscribers to use both networks, increasing the available coverage area.

Holleycomm's lawsuit demanded an end to the alleged patent infringement by Samsung and compensation for damages, which were not specified. The company also pledged to expand its suit to include other vendors.

"This means Samsung won't be the last to be prosecuted for the infringement of the dual-mode patent of Holleycomm," the company said last year.

(PC World)