Two of Amazon’s European subsidiaries and Wi-Fi router maker Eero, also owned by Amazon, have infringed European patent EP 3334112 and may be unable to sell Wifi-6-enabled products in Germany. The Munich District Court handed down the verdict on December 15, the same day as the hearing.
Huawei was suing for injunctive relief, information and accounting, destruction, recall and damages (Case ID: 7 O 10988/22).
However, this ruling only affects Wi-Fi routers that Amazon and Eero manufacture in-house, such as the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4k. Other manufacturers may continue to sell their products through the Amazon platform.
potential damage
Huawei can enforce the judgment against a bond totaling 4.5 million euros. Amazon may, and is considered likely, to appeal the ruling. But the court has yet to justify its surprisingly quick decision in writing. According to JUVE’s patent information, Amazon has not yet filed an appeal.
If the ruling stands, Amazon will have to compensate Huawei for damages it suffered after March 19, 2020. According to JUVE patent information, Amazon has not filed an invalidation lawsuit against EP 112 so far, but is focusing on its FRAND defense.
Four claims against Amazon
The ruling is part of a larger dispute over Wifi 6 patents. Huawei is also suing Amazon over another Wifi 6 patent in Munich (Case ID: 7 O 10987/22). The court is scheduled to hear the case in March 2024. In Dusseldorf and Munich, Huawei sued Amazon over its Wifi 5 patent, but courts have not yet set a date for oral hearings.
Huawei has also filed two infringement lawsuits against Fritzbox manufacturer AVM in the Munich District Court. In November, a court ordered AVM to cease and desist, according to reports. The court held that the Wifi-6-enabled AVM product infringed Huawei’s EP 3 337 077. AVM subsequently appealed this decision.
Huawei also sued other companies, including Netgear and automotive group Stellantis. The Chinese company sued the former in the Düsseldorf District Court. Huawei sued Stellantis in 2022 over cell phone patents involved in car connectivity. The Netherlands-based company produces around 6 million cars a year under the Fiat, Opel, Peugeot and Citroën brands.
Huawei relies on UPC
Huawei sued only Amazon and AVM in Germany’s patent court, but the Chinese company escalated its dispute with Netgear to the Unified Patent Court in July. So far, Huawei has not had many successes at the Düsseldorf District Court. The court dismissed one of Huawei’s lawsuits and blocked the second.
The Huawei case in the Munich Regional Office was one of the first SEP cases in the new court (Case ID: ACT_459771/2023). According to the website www.upc.beetz.nl, Netgear recently filed a counterclaim for cancellation against UPC.
Bird & Bird again
A team led by Christian Harmsen for Huawei at the Munich District Court obtained judgments against Amazon and Eero. Bird & Bird partners have long relationships with Chinese companies. He was Huawei’s lead lawyer in the dispute with ZTE, leading to the CJEU’s landmark judgment in Huawei v. ZTE.
Christian Harmsen
In Germany, Huawei is also working with a team of lawyers led by Tobias Hessel. Hessel brought client relationships from his old law firm Hoyng ROKH Monegier to Clifford Chance. He is leading lawsuits against companies such as AVM and Netgear.
As always, when Huawei is involved in patent litigation, patent attorneys from Braun Dureus Pannen Emmerling are involved. Fritz Emmerling’s team has so far handled most of the Chinese group’s legal proceedings. However, Huawei also cooperates with Mitscherlich & Partner.
AVM and Netgear are defending with Klaka and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer respectively.
Amazon relied on a mixed team at Hogan Labels, led by Munich-based partners Steffen Steiniger and Benjamin Schroeder. The company has long-standing relationships with Amazon in the UK and Germany. Steffen Steininger, a partner at Munich-based Hogan Lovells, represented Amazon in a dispute with his German company Datascape over music streaming technology.
Hogan Lovells’ team, led by Stephen Steininger, is also representing Amazon in its UPC case against Nokia.
For Huawei
Bird & Bird (Düsseldorf): Christian Harmsen (lead), Felix Roediger, Matthias Meyer (all partners). Attorney: Nick Pearson.Colleagues: Jonas Smeets, Xinmin Chen
Brown Duraus Panen Emmerling (Düsseldorf, Munich): Friedrich Emmerling, Karl Ulrich Braun-Dureus, Michael Böhmke, Frank Klein, Jörg Kohlschmidt (all partners). Associate: Melanie Zani (all patent attorneys)
Inside the company (Munich, Brussels): Xiaowu Zhang (Head of IPR Europe), Thomas Dreiser (Lead EU IP Litigation Lawyer), Liang Gao (Director of IPR Dispute Resolution Europe)
steffen steininger
In the case of Amazon
Hogan Lovells (Munich): Steffen Steininger, Benjamin Schröer (both legal directors), Andreas Schmid (patent attorney, all partners). Employees: Daniel Kaneko, Leonard Hollander, Teresa Storr, Anna Wendle, Aaron Stumpf, Niels Gierse, Alexander Lebsey (patent attorney)
Munich District Court,
Oliver Schön (President), Hubertus Schacht, Judge Tesaire
