Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. has filed lawsuits against Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. for infringement of intellectual property rights, the Chinese firm said Wednesday.
The lawsuits were filed with courts in California, the United States; and Shenzhen City in south China, with infringement claims over telecom patents and software, Huawei said.
The lawsuit came at a time when domestic smartphone makers like Huawei and Xiaomi are upsetting the market apple cart, which until now has been dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung.
Huawei said it is entitled to seek damages from companies that use its patents without proper licensing. The company said in a statement that it is committed to fair, reasonable and indiscriminate licensing of its mobile telecom patents.
Ding Jianxin, head of Huawei intellectual property division, said the company had signed licensing agreements with dozens of companies.
Huawei said it had spent 9.2 billion U.S. dollars, or 15 percent of the company's 2015 revenue, on research into new technology, products and wireless telecom standards.
Huawei has filed more patents than any other companies in the world, with 3,898 entries by 2015, according to data compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
According to tech consultancy Gartner, Samsung and Apple are the world's top two smartphone makers, with a combined marketshare of 38 percent. Huawei is third with 8.3 percent, followed by two other Chinese brands Oppo and Xiaomi.
