Xiaomi is being accused of copyright infringement by a US company after ‘years’ of negotiations failed

• Xiaomi’s fortunes in India may be at risk as a US-based technology research company files two claims of copyright infringement against it.
  
• InterDigital claims that it has only filed this case now because ‘years’ of prior negotiations failed.
  
• InterDigital is looking for compensatory and punitive damages as well as injunctive relief to prevent any further infringement by Xiaomi.

Xiaomi has new troubles in India as a US-based technology research company called InterDigital, which is accusing the Chinese smartphone maker of copyright infringement.

InterDigital claims that it’s only suing Xiaomi now because ‘years’ of negotiations failed. It wants the Chinese behemoth, which accounts for the largest share of smartphones in the Indian market, to join the likes of Samsung, Apple, Huawei, and others and obtain a legit license for the use of its patents.

3G, 4G and video copyright infringement
InterDigital has filed two claims at the Delhi High Court seeking compensatory and punitive damages. It has also asked the court to provide injunctive relief to prevent any further infringement until the matter is brought to a close.

The first of the two claims consists of five infringements of the company’s cellular 3G and 4G patents in India. The other claim is on the infringement of three of InterDigital’s High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) patents in the country.

This includes everything from patents to increase the efficiency of bandwidth usage, reduce power consumption, to enhancing picture quality.

“Wireless and video standards play the important role of eliminating barriers to entry, enabling new companies – like Xiaomi – to enter the market and have success despite having made no investment in previous wireless research activities,” said InterDigital CEO William Merritt.

Xiaomi has been bearing the bane of the supply chain disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic like all other smartphone manufacturers. The anti-China sentiment due to India-China tensions along the border has also added to the concerns that the company faces in India.

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