ZTE claims Huawei trademark case is groundless

TELECOM EQUIPMENT MAKER ZTE has responded to a Huawei injunction against it, saying that it's claims are groundless.

Huawei, which is one of ZTE's biggest rivals, was granted a preliminary injunction on 2 May over alleged trademark infringement of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) logo by ZTE.

To all and sundry this appeared like a major victory for Huawei in its legal clash with ZTE, but ZTE issued a statement saying that the case isn't over yet and that it is still pursuing options that could turn things around.

ZTE said it wanted to clarify reports about the injunction, as many of them do not state that it is a preliminary and temporary one, granted as an interim legal process in the lawsuit. It said that all Huawei had to do to get the preliminary injuction was file an application with the court, suggesting it was simply a matter of paperwork.

ZTE wanted to highlight that a final decision on whether or not infringement took place has yet to be decided and that if ZTE is found not guilty then Huawei will have to foot the entire legal bill. Of course, ZTE did not hint at what might happen if it's found guilty. We're sure the legal bill will be the least of its worries then.

ZTE said that the Huawei case lacks merit because ZTE stopped using the trademark in question before Huawei's trademark application was applied for and approved. Huawei applied for the trademark on November 4, 2009 and it was approved by the EU on May 27, 2010, but ZTE said it stopped using the trademark on July 14, 2009.

The company said that Huawei clearly intended to use the trademark to sue ZTE, but that suing ZTE for using it for the period before Huawei owned the trademark is "beyond the bounds of normal technology, marketing and legal litigation process". This is likely to be ZTE's main argument for having the case thrown out of court.

ZTE also claims that Huawei had no right to register the RoHS logo as a trademark in the first place and that ZTE has asked the EU to revoke it. Restriction of hazardous substances is part of EU legislation, but ZTE said that Huawei is attempting to misappropriate the term and logo for itself. It said this lacks any legitimacy, as it would be like trademarking the words "energy saving".

The dispute over this logo seems somewhat bizarre, as the RoHS logo definitely appears to be something that belongs more in the jurisdiction of lawmakers than technology firms, but Huawei and ZTE have been at each others' throats for some time now. Huawei sued ZTE for infringement of its mobile broadband data card and LTE patents, and ZTE responded with a tit-for-tat LTE lawsuit. The two Chinese telecommunications firms look set to engage in legal battles for a long time to come. µ