Sharp and Oppo end litigation with patent licensing deal
Telecommunications rivals Sharp and Oppo have cemented an agreement covering global cross-patent licences for communications technologies, ending all ongoing litigation between the two companies.
Sharp, which describes itself as Japan’s leading cell phone vendor, announced news of the agreement with Chinese telecommunications company Oppo in a statement dated Friday, October 8.
As well as covering patents for communications technologies, the deal also includes the sales of both parties’ terminal products.
Mototaka Taneya, executive managing officer of corporate research and development at Sharp, said that the agreement reflects the value of both Sharp and Oppo’s IP.
“While we licence standard-essential patents (SEPs) for communication technologies to various leading companies, we are pleased that with this agreement, we can update the value of our patent portfolio once again,” Taneya commented.
The telecommunications companies came to blows when, having started patent licensing negotiations in 2019, Sharp sued Oppo in Japan and Germany in 2020. Sharp claimed that Oppo’s smartphones infringed its patent covering 4G/LTE technology.
Meanwhile, in March 2020, Oppo filed its own lawsuit against Sharp at the Shenzhen Intermediate Court, in China.
Oppo claimed that Sharp had breached fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms during the negotiations. The Chinese company claimed Sharp had coerced Oppo in the discussions through infringement injunctions and overpricing, and by unreasonably delaying the negotiations.
Oppo sought compensation for breach of FRAND terms and the implementation of global patent rates in relation to Sharp’s portfolio of 3G, 4G, and wi-fi SEPs.
Sharp argued that the Chinese court did not have the jurisdiction to determine the issue of global SEP rates. However, in October 2020, the Shenzhen Intermediate Court held that it did have jurisdiction due to Oppo being a Chinese company and Sharp being the owner of Chinese patents.
The Shenzhen Intermediate Court ruled that global SEP rates will assist the two telecommunications companies in avoiding worldwide litigation across numerous jurisdictions and that, as above, it does have the jurisdiction to set the terms for global FRAND licences.
The decision represented the first instance in which the Shenzhen Intermediate Court had confirmed it has jurisdiction to set a global FRAND rate and, in August 2021, China’s Supreme People’s Court (Intellectual Property Tribune) affirmed the ruling.
Both Sharp and Oppo agree that the patent litigation can now be dismissed following the signing of the cross-licensing agreement which, according to the statement released on Friday, demonstrates the value of the companies’ patent portfolios.
Adler Feng, senior director of IP at Oppo, said of the agreement: “Oppo believes deeply in the value of innovation and highly respects IP. We are pleased with the outcome that both companies resolve the global patent disputes in an amicable way. The cross-licensing agreement again recognises Oppo’s IP strength.”
Sharp reached an SEP licence deal with vehicle manufacturer Daimler last year, whilst Oppo currently has patent licensing agreements with technology companies including Ericsson, Nokia, and Qualcomm.
Meanwhile, Oppo’s parent company Foxconn was the target of a lawsuit filed by Microsoft centering on unpaid patent royalties. Last year, a California federal judge ruled in favour of Microsoft.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox
