Xiaomi sued for alleged patent infringement ahead of blockbuster IPO

Coolpad

11/05/2018 11:21

By Sijia Jiang
    HONG KONG, May 11 (Reuters) - Chinese smartphone maker
Coolpad Group  2369.HK  said its unit has sued three group firms
of Xiaomi  IPO-XMGP.HK , which last week filed for a Hong Kong
IPO that could be worth up to $10 billion, for patent
infringement.
    Coolpad said in a statement late on Thursday its subsidiary,
Yulong Computer Telecommunication Scientific (Shenzhen) Co Ltd
filed a lawsuit against Xiaomi Telecom Technology Co Ltd, Xiaomi
Technology Co Ltd and Xiaomi Factory Co Ltd in a court in
Jiangsu province for using its patent without authorisation.
    Yulong demanded that the Xiaomi companies should immediately
stop production and sale of some smartphone models, including
the Mi MIX2, Coolpad said.
    Yulong had filed a similar legal case against Xiaomi in a
Shenzhen court in January.    
    "It is because the IP (intellectual property) protection
environment in China improved that Coolpad launched the lawsuit
in January this year," Coolpad's global chief patent officer
Nancy Zhang told a press conference on Friday, denying they were
timed with Xiaomi's upcoming IPO.
    Xiaomi last week filed its IPO plans, which could be the
largest listing globally in almost four years.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1SA13X
    Coolpad has alleged that Xiaomi violated its patented
multi-simcard design and other technology related to user
interface. It demanded that Xiaomi compensate it for losses due
to the alleged infringement, though Zhang declined to give a
figure.
    In a statement, Xiaomi said it has requested patent
authorities to invalidate patent rights that are the subject of
the lawsuit filed in Shenzhen. It said it will fully cooperate
in the investigation by authorities on the matter.  
    Coolpad, a Shenzhen-based smartphone maker founded 25 years
ago, was once a unit of Jia Yueting's LeEco conglomerate, which
has been struggling financially over the past year and a half.
LeEco sold off all its interest in Coolpad in
January. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1SG1UL  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1P706C 
    Coolpad shares have been suspended since March 2017. It has
been unable to report its 2017 annual result on time and only
just filed its 2016 annual report last month after repeated
delays due to audit problems. It reported a loss of HK$4.38
billion for 2016 versus a profit of HK$2.32 billion in
2015. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN1RG0L8

 (Reporting by Sijia Jiang; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
 ((Sijia.Jiang@thomsonreuters.com; +852 65313893;))