A Chinese court ruled that Apple copied the iPhone 6 from a local manufacturer. (Photo : Getty Images)
Patents seem to be the newfound ally of Chinese smartphone makers, which have been grappling for space in the mobile handset industry dominated by tech giants Apple and Samsung.
The Wall Street Journal described patents as the local manufacturers' "ammunition" in waging war against the two heavyweights.
Last month, Huawei filed patent lawsuits against Samsung, alleging that the latter used its 4G cellular communications technology without securing proper license. For observers, the move is an indication that tables are already turning for China companies, which once used to be at the receiving end of copyright infringement flak.
According to the WSJ, Huawei was the largest filer of international patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty for 2015, followed by U.S.-based chipmaker Qualcomm and China's ZTE.
Huawei's patent portfolio has been boosted by its vast R&D programs. According to the WSJ, the company has splurged almost $30 billion on R&D over the last five years.
A report by AFD China, which specializes in patents, trademarks and copyrights, also said that Huawei owns 25 percent of the world's 4G-related patents.
"Huawei itself has always been focused on innovation and quality strategy, and has owned many core technologies in 4G field," according to an intellectual property rights expert cited in the report, adding that companies who want to emulate Huawei also need to bank on product quality and technology development.
Meanwhile, patent-related lawsuits also seem to be the headache of Apple in China. A small manufacturer called Shenzhen Baili Marketing Services claimed recently that the Cupertino, California-based company's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were copycats of its 100C smartphones line.
China's IP regulator had ruled in favor of Shenzhen Baili, disallowing Apple from selling the said models in China. The U.S. company's appeal is now pending at a regional patent tribunal in Beijing.
"We are going to see a lot more Chinese companies filing patents outside China, and more deals and lawsuits involving patents and technologies," said Benjamin Bai, a partner at Allen & Overy LLP.
Another Chinese tech company joining the patent craze is Xiaomi, which recently snapped up 1,500 patents from Microsoft.
According to the Financial Times, the deal "will help the Chinese smartphone maker expand exports and earn the U.S. technology giant some badly needed goodwill in Beijing."
