Huawei vs US Government: Company warns against politicization of IP disputes

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On Thursday, Chinese telecom giant Huawei released a white paper on innovation and intellectual property. Officials warn against the issue being politicized. CGTN reporter Ge Yunfei has more.

Intellectual property is not a political tool, that's the latest message from Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

SONG LIUPING CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER OF HUAWEI "If politicians use IP as a political tool, they will destroy confidence in the patent protection system. If some governments selectively strip companies of their IP, it will break the foundation of global innovation."

On Thursday morning at its Shenzhen headquarters, Huawei held a press conference to respond to its recent patent cases. On June 18th, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio filed the amendment to a defense authorization bill that will prevent Huawei from filing patent lawsuits in American courts.

PROF. PETER WILLIAMSON JUDGE BUSINESS SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE "So the question I ask is who will be the next? it could be any foreign company. The long-term cost of throwing these international cooperation rules we have developed over the decades will absolutely immense."

Huawei said it doesn't believe the amendment stands a chance.

SONG LIUPING CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER OF HUAWEI "We don't believe the amendment will be passed. It actually shakes the foundations of the IP system, which is the most important system for protecting and encouraging creativity and innovation. But if it were passed, we'll take every legal right to protect our interests."

PROF. PETER WILLIAMSON JUDGE BUSINESS SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE "We need to bring the debate about international IP back to a matter of fact and away from political obedience."

Huawei also released a white paper on IP and innovation. The company now has over 11 thousand(11,152) existing patents in the US. Since 2015, the Chinese telecom giant has received 1.4 billion US dollars in licensing revenue.

GE YUNFEI SHENZHEN "Huawei is also the world's largest 5G patent holder. Though with so many patents in hand, Huawei stressed again it is a product-based company which will not weaponize its intellectual property."

Huawei says in the past thirty years, it has paid more than 6 billion USD in IP royalties to other companies, with nearly 80% of that paid to American firms. Now Huawei still has several patent cases in US courts. The company says it still holds high confidence in the US judicial system. Ge Yunfei, CGTN, Shenzhen.