“Samsung:“ said it was suing its rival for patent infringements through multiple courts in China.

They are respectively the world’s number one and number three smartphone makers and compete fiercely.

Samsung has reportedly sued the Chinese phone maker and a department store in Beijing demanding they stop production and sales of some products.

“Despite our best efforts to resolve this matter amicably, it has regrettably become necessary to take legal action in order to defend our intellectual property,” Samsung said in a statement.

Huawei said in a statement it had not received a “formal complaint” but would defend itself as necessary: “In the absence of a negotiated settlement, litigation is often an efficient way to resolve” intellectual property rights disputes.

Back in May Huawei sued Samsung in the United States and China .

It alleged infringement of patents for 4G phone technology, operating systems and user interface software.

Why the legal slugfest?

CIMB analyst Lee Do-hoon said neither company was likely to be motivated by monetary compensation from the legal battle.

Huawei could be angling to boost its reputation by taking on the top smartphone player, he said, while Samsung’s suit might be a manoeuvre to force Huawei to settle its claims as soon as possible.

“If you look at the patent battle with Apple and Samsung … it ultimately created a lot of benefits for Samsung in a kind of an advertisement,” he said.

“Huawei might also be trying to create some noise marketing for itself,” he said, adding he expected the two firms to eventually reach a deal such as a cross-licensing agreement. (Euronews)