Samsung hasn't just been competing with Huawei in the market. Both companies have been involved in legal battles since 2016 when they sued each other on allegations of patent infringement. Lawsuits were filed in the United States and China with Samsung contesting them in both markets.
The two companies have decided to settle their issue out of court, at least in the United States. A joint motion filed today confirms that Huawei and Samsung has entered into a settlement agreement this week.
Settlement agreement will be finalized over the next few weeks
The joint motion filed with the Federal Circuit seeks a stay on the appellate proceedings concerning Samsung's antisuit injunction. A stay at this stage when only the appellate decision was left suggested one thing which was confirmed by the joint motion. Samsung and Huawei have entered into a settlement agreement.
“The parties entered into a settlement agreement and, pursuant to that agreement, they anticipate that in the next several weeks they will complete the pending steps to finalize the settlement and ultimately that Huawei will file an unopposed motion to dismiss this pending appeal within the next 30 days,” the joint motion states.
This case was filed in the United States back in 2016 and would have gone to trial in September. The jury would then have heard Samsung's allegation of Huawei breaching its FRAND (“Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory”) licensing obligations. Both countries have been battling it out in the courts since then and have no appeared to make the wise decision of no longer wasting resources on this fight
It's unclear what the terms of this settlement are. They might be made public in the coming weeks once they're finalized. It's good to see that Samsung and Huawei can see eye to eye on some matters.
