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Chinese Tech Company Squares Off with Portuguese Inventor in US Court: Media Paints Dispute as a Modern David v. Goliath, but Questions Remain
Top Insight
Disputes over patent infringement frequently spill into the courts, but sometimes parties seek to bolster their chances—and their leverage—by litigating such disagreements in the court of public opinion. This has been the case for a recent dispute involving Huawei and a Portuguese inventor, Rui Pedro Oliveira, who has alleged that the company has infringed his patents through the provision of its EnVizion 360, a 360-degree smartphone camera accessory. After Huawei declined to take a license, Oliveira allegedly sold his family home to afford a US patent attorney in order to further pursue his case—and through a series of interviews with news outlets not traditionally focused on patent law, has received favorable media coverage portraying him as the underdog. However, Huawei has now pushed back with a declaratory judgment suit, alleging that Oliveira has used the threat of further negative media coverage as leverage to force a settlement. Meanwhile, an analysis of recent media coverage reveals certain key misconceptions about patent law, while questions remain as to the actual merits of Oliveira’s infringement case.
March 31, 2019