“Huawei Withdraws Patent Infringement Lawsuits Against Wifi Router Manufacturer AVM”
In a significant development in the tech industry, AVM, the manufacturer of the popular FritzBox wifi router, has reached a settlement with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. The settlement comes after Huawei withdrew all five patent infringement lawsuits it had filed against AVM with the Munich Regional Court between 2022 and 2024.
The lawsuits were part of a larger campaign by Huawei to enforce its Wifi 6 patents against several users, including Amazon, Netgear, and car manufacturer Stellantis. The Netherlands-based Stellantis produces approximately six million cars annually under the Fiat, Opel, Peugeot, and Citroën brands.
Huawei initiated two lawsuits against AVM in late 2022, followed by a third in March 2023. The Munich Regional Court dismissed Huawei’s claim regarding infringement of EP 300, leading to an appeal by Huawei to the Munich Higher Regional Court.
In November 2023, the 21st Civil Chamber of the same court upheld Huawei’s claim regarding EP 077 and ordered an injunction. AVM appealed against this to the Munich Higher Regional Court. Huawei then launched two more infringement claims based on additional patents, escalating the situation further in March 2024 with a fifth lawsuit and a preliminary injunction.
Meanwhile, AVM filed a nullity suit against four patents at the German Federal Patent Court. However, there was not enough time before the settlement for a fifth nullity action against EP 112.
The reasons behind the surprising settlement between AVM and Huawei have not been disclosed. However, had the settlement not been reached, the Munich Regional Court would have heard Huawei’s action for infringement of EP 3 657 749 this Wednesday.
Stellantis and Amazon had previously reached a settlement with Huawei in the Wifi 6 dispute, leaving Netgear as the only one of the four companies originally sued. Two lawsuits are pending at Düsseldorf’s regional court and the higher regional court, respectively.
Huawei has also increased the pressure on Netgear with two UPC lawsuits over EP 3 678 321 and EP 3 611 989. The Munich local division will hear the case on the latter patent on 18 and 19 June.
A Clifford Chance team led by Düsseldorf partner Tobias Hessel is leading proceedings for Huawei against Netgear. The defendant, on the other hand, is relying on Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in the national lawsuits and at the UPC.
Throughout the entire series of lawsuits, AVM relied on a mixed team of Klaka lawyers led by Wolfgang Götz and a patent attorney team from Gulde led by Nicolas Haße. Munich-based Bardehle Pagenberg partner Johannes Heselberger advised AVM in the extrajudicial negotiations.
The settlement between AVM and Huawei marks a significant development in the ongoing patent disputes in the tech industry. It remains to be seen how this will impact the remaining lawsuits and the future of Wifi 6 technology.