25 June 2014, Shenzhen, China – ZTE Corporation announced that the Patent Re-examination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China is reviewing applications from the company to invalidate 32 patents claimed by Vringo Inc. and its subsidiaries.
Further applications to invalidate the patents claimed by Vringo entities will be filed by ZTE to the Patent Re-examination Board. ZTE has also initiated patent invalidation litigations against Vringo in courts in the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia.
ZTE reserves the right to pursue further action in other jurisdictions to protect the interests of the company and our customers.
ZTE is committed to defending the company and our subsidaries against patent-related claims initiated by Vringo entities in litigations in Europe, Asia and South America. ZTE steadfastly opposes all forms of abuses of intellectual property, and the improper use of patent assets as a tactic in licensing negotiations.
In parallel to the concerted global patent invalidation action, ZTE has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission, requesting the regulator to investigate the licensing practices of Vringo in light of concerns that these practices are impeding fair competition in the telecommunications market.
According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, ZTE submitted 2,309 filings under the Patent Cooperation Treaty in 2013, the second-highest total globally. ZTE ranked top in the WIPO’s PCT application tables in 2011 and 2012, reflecting the company’s world-leading efforts in technology innovation.
In the past five years, ZTE has invested more than RMB 40 billion in research and development. As of the end of 2013, more than 16,000 patents have been granted to ZTE. The world-leading intellectual property assets of ZTE offer a strong safeguard for the company to prevail in patent litigations internationally.
Since December 2013, courts in the United States issued rulings in favor of ZTE in at least three cases concerning Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930.
As one of the world’s leading technology innovators, ZTE respects the intellectual property of other companies. ZTE has signed dozens of global intellectual property licensing agreements with holders including Qualcomm, Siemens, Ericsson, Microsoft and Dolby Laboratories.
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