The moves highlight ZTE's growth as it looks to expand overseas, especially in developed countries, in competition with Ericsson and other global telecom hardware makers. ZTE also sells mobile phones and other devices, increasingly in developed markets like Western Europe.
Ericsson filed its suits against ZTE on Friday in the U.K., Italy and Germany after trying for "several years" to reach an agreement with ZTE about licensing the patents, which cover areas like the mobile technology WCDMA, Ericsson spokesman Fredrik Hallstan said Saturday. ZTE uses the patents in its handsets, its network infrastructure, or both, in the three European countries, he said.
ZTE's intellectual property director Wang Haibo responded by saying Ericsson infringes certain ZTE patents and the Chinese company will consider suing Ericsson, though he couldn't immediately name specific ZTE patents being infringed. Wang, speaking to Dow Jones Newswires, said ZTE could file a suit in China, Western Europe or another region.
ZTE had been discussing a patent cross-licensing deal with Ericsson and is still open to such a pact, Wang said. "ZTE has been sincere in seeking agreement with Ericsson over intellectual property rights and patent licensing," he said.
Ericsson didn't immediately reply to a request for comment on Wang's remarks.
ZTE had a 10.9% share of the $15.2 billion of revenue in the mobile infrastructure market in the first half of last year, according to research firm IHS iSuppli. ZTE ranked fourth behind market leader Nokia Siemens Networks, Ericsson and China-based Huawei Technologies Co.
(C) Market Watch
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