Huawei successful against Amazon in dispute over wifi routers

Amazon may no longer sell its own wifi routers in Germany, as they infringe a Wifi 6 patent from Huawei. This was decided by Munich Regional Court last week following the oral hearing. The ruling does not affect the sale of third-party wifi routers via the Amazon platform.

Two European subsidiaries of Amazon and Eero – a manufacturer of wifi routers also owned by Amazon – have infringed European patent EP 3334112 and may now no longer sell Wifi-6-capable products in Germany. The Regional Court Munich handed down this ruling on December 15, on the same day as the hearing.

Huawei  had sued for injunctive relief, information and accounting, destruction, recall and damages (case ID: 7 O 10988/22).

However, the ruling only affects wifi routers that Amazon and Eero manufacture themselves, such as the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4k. Other manufacturers may continue to sell their products via the Amazon platform.

Potential damages

Huawei can enforce the judgment against a security deposit totaling €4.5 million. Amazon may appeal against the judgment, and this is considered likely. However, as the court has not yet justified its surprisingly quick decision in writing, the US company has not decided whether to take this step.

If the ruling stands, Amazon would have to compensate Huawei for the damages it has suffered since 19 March 2020. According to JUVE Patent information, Amazon has not thus far filed a nullity action against EP 112, but has concentrated on the FRAND defence.

Four claims against Amazon

The judgment is part of a larger dispute over Wifi 6 patents. Huawei has also sued Amazon over another Wifi 6 patent in Munich (case ID: 7 O 10987/22). The court will hear this case in March 2024. In Düsseldorf and Munich, Huawei sued Amazon over a Wifi 5 patent, but the courts have not yet set a date for the oral hearing.

Huawei is also taking action against Fritzbox manufacturer AVM with two infringement suits at the Regional Court Munich. In November, according to press reports the court ordered AVM to cease and desist. The court was of the opinion that Wifi-6-capable AVM products infringed Huawei’s EP 3 337 077. AVM has since appealed against the ruling.

In addition, Huawei sued other companies such as Netgear and automotive group Stellantis. The Chinese company sued the former at Düsseldorf Regional Court. Huawei sued Stellantis back in 2022 over mobile phone patents that play a role in car connectivity. The Netherlands-based company manufactures about six million cars a year under the Fiat, Opel, Peugeot and Citroën brands.

Huawei turns to UPC

While Huawei only sued Amazon and AVM in German patent courts, the Chinese company escalated its dispute with Netgear to the Unified Patent Court in July. Previously, Huawei had not had much success at Düsseldorf Regional Court. The court had dismissed one of Huawei’s lawsuits and suspended the second.

Huawei’s lawsuit at the Munich local division was one of the first SEP proceedings at the new court (case ID: ACT_459771/2023). According to the website www.upc.beetz.nl Netgear recently has filed a counter claim of revocation with the UPC.