Foxconn rejects Microsoft's patent complaint and claims never to pay royalties



[ad_1]

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan-based Foxconn Group (2317.TW) reacted on Tuesday to a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O), claiming that as a contract manufacturer, it is no longer the case. He had never had to pay royalties for the American giant's software.

<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Microsoft filed the complaint against the Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile Ltd <2038.HK> in the Northern District of California on Friday. China has filed a lawsuit against FIH Mobile Ltd, a subsidiary of Foxconn, which is claiming unpaid royalties for patents. <2038.HK> in the northern district of California on Friday. It claims unpaid fees for patents used in devices intended for customers, including one of the largest suppliers of Chinese smartphones.

Foxconn founder and CEO, Terry Gou, said at an impromptu press conference in Taipei that "patent infringement" was not a problem for his group, which "will not suffer almost no loss "as a result of the lawsuit.

Foxconn "has never paid a patent fee to Microsoft," Gou said.

Neither Microsoft nor FIH could be contacted immediately for comment.

Foxconn, formerly Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, has gained worldwide visibility as an assembler of the Apple iPhone Inc. (AAPL.O).

He received notice of the lawsuit on Tuesday, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter, who was not allowed to speak to the media and therefore refused to be identified.

Guo was "furious" and will defend himself, said the person.

Earlier Tuesday, in a Facebook post, Guo asked why a software company would not receive patent royalties from suppliers who used software.

"They should not go after the manufacturers," Guo said at the press conference.

Hon Hai and FIH recorded an increase of about 1% in afternoon trading, which roughly corresponds to the stock price benchmark (.TWII).

(Report by Jeanny Kao and Yimou Lee, written by Anne Marie Roantree, edited by Richard Borsuk and Christopher Cushing)

[ad_2]

Source link