Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corporation on Wednesday said that the Delhi High Court has set aside the injunction sought against the company’s products by Vringo Inc. ZTE’s business operations in India are unaffected by the litigation, it said.
“ZTE is confident of a positive outcome in the litigation in India as the company continues to defend Vringo’s complaints vigorously. ZTE reserves the right to pursue legal action against Vringo in different jurisdictions to minimise disruptions to our business and our customers,” the statement said.
“ZTE fully respects the intellectual property of other companies, and is committed to completing licensing agreements with patent holders on the FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) principle,” said Shen Jianfeng, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at ZTE.
“We steadfastly oppose the anti-competitive use of patents by holders as a tactic for unreasonable demands.”
Vringo, Inc., a company engaged in the development and monetisation of intellectual property and mobile technologies, in a separate statement on Tuesday said that the Delhi High Court has ordered an expedited trial in Vringo’s lawsuit against ZTE.
“The trial shall be completed within six months from the first day when the matter is listed before the local commissioner. The Single Judge may take up the matter after completion of trial on an expedited basis,” Vringo Inc said
The order follows the High Court's grant of an ex-parte ad-interim injunction on November 8, 2013, restraining ZTE from manufacturing, importing, selling, offering for sale, using, advertising (either directly or indirectly including through third party websites) infringing products, including mobile handsets, dongles, tablets, and infrastructure equipment compliant with the CDMA2000 technology associated with India Patent No. 243,980, owned by Vringo's wholly owned subsidiary, Vringo Infrastructure, Inc.
Vringo filed a suit against ZTE Telecom India Private Ltd, ZTE Corporation, and Xu Dejun, Chief Executive Officer of ZTE Telecom India Private Limited, in the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi on November 7, 2013. The lawsuit alleges infringement of the '980 patent, titled “Mobile Station Operable with Radio Access Network and a Packet Data Serving Node and a Method for Operating Such Mobile Station.”
In preparation for the expedited hearing, the High Court has set a schedule for pleadings and discovery and has appointed a commissioner to oversee the process of recording of evidence at the trial stage.
Following a hearing, on December 12, 2013, the High Court passed a consent order ordering ZTE to pay a bond of 50 million rupees (approximately $800,000) in place of the ex-parte ad-interim injunction.
Further, ZTE Corporation and ZTE Telecom India Private Ltd are required to file an affidavit of one of their Directors disclosing the number of CDMA devices sold by the ZTE entities in India and the revenues earned from such sales, along with appropriate documents such as invoices and bills of entry supporting the same for both past and future periods.
The court permitted Vringo to seek additional relief upon its review of the quantum of ZTE's sales pursuant to the foregoing disclosure. The Court further directed that the Indian Customs authorities continue to notify Vringo when all relevant ZTE goods are imported into India and give Vringo the opportunity to inspect such goods.