File photo/Zhang Xiaoqing (NBD)

Mar. 10 (NBD) -- On Monday, Japan's smartphone maker Sharp Corporation announced that it had filed patent infringement lawsuits against Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd ("Oppo"), a Chinese smartphone manufacturer in Germany and Japan. 

Sharp claimed that Oppo and its Japanese subsidiary infringed on several patents related to 4G wireless communication technologies for smartphones.

With regard to the allegation, Oppo replied on late Monday in a statement that it stands against unreasonable negotiation tools such as excessively high pricing and reserves the right to defend its legitimate rights and interests through legal means.

Additionally, Oppo said it respects its own and third-party IP (intellectual property) rights and has patent-licensing cooperation with global industry leaders such as Qualcomm, Nokia, and Ericsson. As of February 29 this year, the Chinese firm had more than 16,000 patents.

National Business Daily noticed that the litigation fight between the two companies started as early as this January when Sharp sued Oppo in Tokyo for alleged violations regarding wireless local area network technologies. Later in February, Oppo in turn filed a lawsuit against Sharp in Shenzhen for unfair treatment in licensing negotiations and sued the Japanese counterpart in Tokyo for infringement on flash-charging technologies.

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn