On June 18, MediaTek subsidiary HFI Innovation filed a patent infringement lawsuit against five Huawei affiliates in the Mannheim division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in Europe. The suit targets European Patent EP2689624, covering an LTE technology titled "enhanced physical downlink control channel search space configuration method." This marks the latest move in an intensifying global patent dispute between MediaTek and Huawei.

The legal conflict follows failed licensing negotiations between the two companies. Huawei initially approached MediaTek in March 2022, seeking a license to its 5G standard-essential patents. However, MediaTek rejected the offer, citing non-compliance with fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. In May 2024, Huawei filed a patent infringement lawsuit against MediaTek in the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, potentially involving 5G and earlier-generation mobile communication technologies.

In response, MediaTek launched a legal counteroffensive. By July 2024, it had filed lawsuits against Huawei in six jurisdictions: the UK, Germany (Munich and Mannheim), and several Chinese cities including Shenzhen, Beijing, Zhengzhou, and Hangzhou. These cases span patent infringement, antitrust claims, and FRAND royalty disputes, with some seeking injunctive relief.

Huawei also escalated the matter, initiating lawsuits in multiple Chinese courts including Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou. To date, more than a dozen lawsuits are pending between the two parties across jurisdictions. In March 2025, the UK High Court ruled it had jurisdiction to set global FRAND rates in MediaTek's favor, rejecting Huawei's challenge to the court's authority.

On May 13, 2025, China's Supreme People's Court released four rulings related to jurisdictional challenges in ongoing disputes. These rulings upheld the authority of the original trial courts, rejecting both MediaTek's and Huawei's objections.

Both companies hold extensive patent portfolios. Huawei leads globally with over 150,000 active patents, including more than 50,000 in China, 29,000 in the U.S., and 19,000 in Europe. It ranks first in PCT international patent filings and holds the largest share of global 5G standard-essential patent families at 14.59%.

MediaTek holds over 13,000 granted patents globally as of the end of 2022 and leads the Taiwan market in 5G, Wi-Fi, and video codec IP. As of October 2021, MediaTek and its affiliates had filed over 28,000 patent applications worldwide, 99.27% of which were for inventions. Its R&D investment grew to NT$132 billion in 2024, reflecting its aggressive push in semiconductor innovation.

At the heart of the dispute is a fundamental disagreement over licensing models. Huawei is pushing for chip-level licensing, diverging from the industry norm of charging end-device manufacturers. MediaTek resists, arguing that Huawei's terms are not FRAND-compliant. The ongoing litigation could have long-lasting implications for licensing practices in the global mobile chipset and telecommunications industries.