14 DAY TRIAL // Qualcomm and Meizu have just announced they settled a patent legal battle that was started back in June when the former filed lawsuits in China, Germany, France, and the United States.
Under agreement, Meizu will pay licensing fees similar to those accepted by other Chinese smartphone makers, Bloomberg reports. The settlement puts an end to all four legal battles opened by Qualcomm in the past.
“Meizu has offered exciting and innovative products for its fans in the last thirteen years. Today, we are focusing on our vision with better clarity, and striving to become the top designer brand for high tech products. For this goal, we are determined to remove all obstacles, focus on products and focus on the future,” said Bai Yongxiang, president of Meizu.
According to Qualcomm, the US-based company will grant Meizu a worldwide royalty-bearing patent license, which will allow the Chinese handset maker to develop, manufacture and sell CDMA2000, WCDMA and 4G LTE including 3-mode (LTE-TDD, TD-SCDMA and GSM) complete phones.
Meizu can launch its smartphones worldwide without fear of being sued
Qualcomm's technology licensing business generated almost 75% of its pretax profit in the 2016 fiscal year, while the rest of 25% is represented by sales of semiconductors.
“Qualcomm is pleased to sign this license agreement with Meizu and to help enhance Meizu's product line and generate strong growth for the company, both in China and globally. Qualcomm's standardized technologies are enabling companies to build new products and services across the wireless ecosystem and are transforming people's lives,” said Alex Rogers, executive VP and president, Qualcomm Technology Licensing.
With the patent lawsuits now settled, Meizu can focus on its global expansion, which apparently started earlier this year. It remains to be seen whether or not the Chinese company will become popular in markets like Europe and US in the coming months.
In the meantime, Meizu is readying its next flagship smartphone, which is supposed to be unveiled at MWC 2017 in late February, but we don't rule out a consistent presence at CES in early January.