ZTE might have to brace itself for a lengthy legal battle against Vringo’s lawsuits over patents in Europe and other parts of the world, lawyers said.
In the UK, the High Court of Justice Chancery Division held a hearing on January 30 and rejected Vringo’s request to stay the infringement trial related to three patents, which remains scheduled for June 2015. The UK High Court rejected ZTE’s request to introduce new prior art and re-argue the validity of the UK part of Vringo’s European patent and ordered ZTE to pay Vringo’s costs in relation to this ruling.
“We are committed to defending the company in the upcoming trial in the UK related to the three patents,” said,” Shen Jianfeng, chief intellectual property officer of ZTE.
Chen Hong, a partner at Shanghai DeBund Law Offices, said this kind of patent disputes could last for years before they are settled. “Sometimes in the end it is a war of willpower,” he said.
Shenzhen-based ZTE is the country’s largest listed telecommunications equipment manufacturer. The company is “by no means unwilling to agree to fair and reasonable licensing terms”, it said in a statement.
Many companies reached reconcilation in the end...But it can last for a long time if the price raised by the plaintiff is too high
“However, the company steadfastly opposes all forms of abuses of intellectual property by non-practicing entities that use the threat of litigation and injunction to support their demands for unfair licensing fees. ZTE refuses to be forced into such a deal and considers Vringo’s behaviour to be highly detrimental to its business and consumers.”
