Huawei won the first round in its patent lawsuit against ZTE in Germany yesterday when a judge issued a temporary injunction against ZTE.
The court required ZTE to stop selling data cards brandishing Huawei’s RoHS logo, a European Union certification on the restriction of hazardous substances.
Last month, Huawei filed lawsuits in Germany, France and Hungary alleging that ZTE illegally used its trademarked logo on some of its data card products and violated its patents on data cards and LTE technology.
“The injunction is a positive development for Huawei, as it continues to make efforts to protect its intellectual property,” Huawei said in a statement.
Huawei and ZTE, both based in China, are fighting each other for market share as they expand into international markets.
ZTE, which has filed a countersuit against Huawei over LTE patents, called the injunction a “temporary measure” and emphasized that the court had not yet issued a final decision in the case.
“This action is only a temporary relief measure, and ultimately the judgment whether an infringement has occurred is still pending a final court decision,” the company said in a statement.
ZTE claims that it stopped using the contested trademark in July 2009, months before Huawei applied for the trademark with the European Union in November 2009. The European Union granted Huawei a trademark on its RoHS logo in May 2010.
ZTE is also fighting Huawei’s registration of the trademark. The company claims the logo reflects a European Union standard, not a reflection of Huawei’s environmental identity, and should not be trademarked.
“This is like having a minor graphic design around the words ‘energy saving,’ and using it as a trademark for household appliances,” ZTE said in a statement. “There is a clear lack of legitimacy.”
Huawei claims it has tried to negotiate patent licenses with ZTE and issued letters asking the company to stop using its logo.
