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Samsung, Huawei settle 2-year-old patent dispute

The companies have asked a court to pause proceedings.

abrar-al-heeti2
abrar-al-heeti2
Abrar Al-Heeti Video producer / CNET
Abrar Al-Heeti is a video host and producer for CNET, with an interest in internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. Before joining the video team, she was a writer for CNET's culture team. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
Expertise Abrar has spent her career at CNET breaking down the latest trends on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram, while also reporting on diversity and inclusion initiatives in Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Credentials
  • Named a Tech Media Trailblazer by the Consumer Technology Association in 2019, a winner of SPJ NorCal's Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2022 and has twice been a finalist in the LA Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.
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Abrar Al-Heeti
Samsung
Jung Yeon-je / AFP/Getty Images

Samsung and Huawei on Tuesday asked a court to pause proceedings in a patent infringement dispute after agreeing to settle their 2-year-old legal battle.

The case, filed in 2016, involves both phone makers suing each other for breach of contract and patent infringement. A trial for the case was set to start in September, when the jury would've heard Samsung's allegations that Huawei breached its FRAND licensing obligations. FRAND -- an acronym for "fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory" -- is the concept that some patents need to be shared and should be done so at fair rates. 

In 2016, Huawei sued Samsung for allegedly using its technology illegally. And in 2017, a Chinese court ordered Samsung to pay Huawei 80 million yuan (around $11.6 million) for patent violations.

China's Huawei, the world's largest supplier of telecom equipment and the No. 2 smartphone maker, has had a complicated relationship with the US. The company has been accused of violating US sanctions on Iran, stealing US technology and spying for the Chinese government. 

Samsung last week unveiled the Galaxy Fold, its $1,980 foldable phone. On Sunday, Huawei announced its $2,600 5G foldable phone, Mate X at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona.

Samsung and Huawei didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

You can read the settlement notice here: