Huawei told to pay fees to avoid UK sales ban

The High Court has issued an injunction against Huawei that will require the Chinese mobile phone giant to pay licence fees to escape a ban on UK smartphone sales. Photo / 123RF

The High Court has issued an injunction against Huawei that will require the Chinese mobile phone giant to pay licence fees to escape a ban on UK smartphone sales.

In a ruling handed down last week, Huawei was ordered to pay royalties on the millions of smartphones it sells around the world to Unwired Planet, a US company that owns thousands of networking patents obtained from Ericsson.

The injunction has been put on hold as Huawei, which is the world's third-biggest smartphone maker behind Apple and Samsung, prepares to appeal.

The High Court has issued an injunction against Huawei that will require the Chinese mobile phone giant to pay licence fees to escape a ban on UK smartphone sales.

In a ruling handed down last week, Huawei was ordered to pay royalties on the millions of smartphones it sells around the world to Unwired Planet, a US company that owns thousands of networking patents obtained from Ericsson.

The injunction has been put on hold as Huawei, which is the world's third-biggest smartphone maker behind Apple and Samsung, prepares to appeal.

The judgment breaks ground because a British court has taken the unusual step of insisting that Huawei pay royalties on its global sales. The Chinese company's business in the UK is relatively small, but it sold 140 million handsets worldwide last year.