SHENZHEN, China. - Tuesday, January 27th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE) ZTE Corporation noted that three patents of Vringo Inc. and its subsidiaries were invalidated by the Patent Re-examination Board of the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China because of lack of invention.

The three Vringo patents invalidated by the Patent Re-examination Board were numbered 201010526581.4, 200580010576.5 and 200580026870.5, respectively. Two other Vringo patents were invalidated last year by the board, which is also reviewing ZTE’s applications to invalidate more than 20 other Vringo patents.

“The latest rulings by the Patent Re-examination Board further vindicate ZTE’s approach to license intellectual property based on their merits,” said Shen Jianfeng, Chief Intellectual Property Officer of ZTE. “This should discourage some patent holders from attempting to negotiate licensing agreements that are based on a broad portfolio of intellectual property, without thoroughly examining their respective merits.”

The decisions in China followed Vringo’s efforts to license to ZTE a broad patent portfolio, including patents that were invalidated by the Patent Re-examination Board. ZTE steadfastly opposes all forms of abuses of intellectual property by non-practicing entities that use the threat of litigation and injunction to support their demands for unfair licensing fees.

ZTE is committed to defending the company against actions brought by Vringo in Europe, Asia and South America. The company is involved in litigation in Germany over patent EP1186119, the European equivalent of 201010526581.4. In Australia, ZTE is defending a case involving patent AU2005212893, the Austrailian equivalent of 200580010576.5.

Last week, the District Court of Dusseldorf rejected Vringo’s claims against ZTE over two patents (Patents ‘EP 136’ and ‘EP 941’) that allegedly relate to hotspot functionality in mobile devices and the use of Google Maps respectively. Vringo Germany has the right to appeal the decisions of the District Court of Dusseldorf.

As a globally-leading technology innovator, ZTE respects the intellectual property of other companies and is willing to negotiate royalty fees with license holders based on FRAND principles.

About ZTE

ZTE is a provider of advanced telecommunications systems, mobile devices, and enterprise technology solutions to consumers, carriers, companies and public sector customers. As part of ZTE’s M-ICT strategy, the company is committed to providing customers with integrated end-to-end innovations to deliver excellence and value as the telecommunications and information technology sectors converge. Listed in the stock exchanges of Hong Kong and Shenzhen (H share stock code: 0763.HK / A share stock code: 000063.SZ), ZTE’s products and services are sold to over 500 operators in more than 160 countries. ZTE commits 10 per cent of its annual revenue to research and development and has leadership roles in international standard-setting organizations. ZTE is committed to corporate social responsibility and is a member of the UN Global Compact. For more information, please visit www.zte.com.cn

Contacts

ZTE Corporation

Margrete Ma, +86 755 26775207

ma.gaili@zte.com.cn

Edelman Hong Kong

Mark Lee, +852-28374756

mark.lee@edelman.com

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