Top of the Great Era

Chapter 3177: Open Door to Host Guests

"Qualcomm?" Zhou Buqi felt a bit confused when he heard the name. "Why Qualcomm again? Wasn't it Ericsson that sued Estar in New Delhi?"

Zhou Shaoning said: "It was Ericsson that sued, but this matter is too complicated."

"what happened?"

"It's like this. After Ericsson sued Estar for infringing their patents, the Indian court temporarily stopped the import of all our mobile phones. However, Qualcomm jumped out at this time."

“Has Qualcomm become an accomplice?”

Zhou Buqi was really worried.

Last year, he did a lot of harm to Qualcomm, which led to antitrust investigations by China, South Korea and Europe. As a result, Qualcomm's stock price has fallen by 30% when global technology stocks are collectively surging. It is said that Qualcomm's board of directors is planning to replace the CEO again.

Zhou Shaoning shook his head. "No, Qualcomm did not help Ericsson. On the contrary, Qualcomm was helping us. They provided some materials and wanted to help us get a temporary entry permit. Before the patent dispute between us and Ericsson is resolved, our mobile phones can still be sold in the Indian market."

"Ah?" Zhou Buqi was surprised. "Qualcomm is helping?"

Zhou Shaoning said: "On the surface, it is indeed helping. According to the feedback from India, Ericsson responded very positively after Qualcomm submitted its materials. Ericsson, as a party involved, has no objection, so there is naturally no doubt. The court expects that within the next few days, it will be able to issue a temporary entry permit for our mobile phones."

"Could it be that Qualcomm and Ericsson are working together to put on a show?"

Zhou Buqi immediately realized that there might be some complicated twists and turns involved.

Zhou Shaoning sighed and said, "Ericsson has been very active since the year before last. The year before last, Ericsson sued Samsung. Last December, Ericsson sued Asda in New Delhi, India. Just now, I got the news that Ericsson has simultaneously filed lawsuits against Apple in many countries in the United States and Europe."

Zhou Buqi raised his eyebrows, "It's the same situation?"

Zhou Shaoning nodded, "Almost."

“Is it related to Qualcomm?”

“Closely related!”

"Qualcomm is in huge trouble now. Is it looking for Ericsson as an ally?"

Zhou Buqi was glad that he had not underestimated Qualcomm and had not acted rashly.

Zhou Shaoning said: "In fact, Qualcomm and Ericsson have been allies for decades, and the two sides have very close cooperation in the field of 2G, 3G and 4G patent communications. By the way, I didn't finish my words just now. The temporary license issued by the Indian court has restrictions. Only mobile phones equipped with Qualcomm processors can be approved for entry. If it is an Astar self-developed chip or a purchased MediaTek chip, such mobile phones cannot enter the country."

Zhou Buqi's eyes widened, "Damn it! It really is Qualcomm's trick!"

What a familiar strategy, what a familiar taste!
Now, most of the third-party mobile phone chip manufacturers have been killed by Qualcomm, and there is basically only one MediaTek left. But Qualcomm's chips are too expensive, what should we do? Mobile phone manufacturers can't buy affordable chip solutions, so they can only develop their own.

Major manufacturers are all developing their own chips, such as Apple, ZTE, Huawei, LG, Samsung, Asda, and HTC.

Apple and Samsung are the strongest and can compete with Qualcomm in the field of high-end chips!
Other manufacturers are relatively weak.

But at least we can make some mid- and low-end chips and put them in mid- and low-end phones… Last year, a large number of low-end phones priced below 1000 yuan were launched in China, and most of them did not use Qualcomm's chip solutions.

This is clearly not in Qualcomm's interest.

It would be best if all mobile phone manufacturers in the world purchased Qualcomm's chip solutions and all mobile phones were equipped with Qualcomm's chip modules!

Is this Qualcomm’s counterattack?

Zhou Buqi asked in confusion: "Why was it okay before?"

Zhou Shaoning said: "Ericsson did not sue us before because we were using Qualcomm chips! Last year, we launched a series of low-end phones, and our own chips were also launched. We launched two phones equipped with MediaTek chips and another phone equipped with our own chips, mainly for the Indian market."

Zhou Buqi took a deep breath and said, "Ericsson sued us because we didn't use Qualcomm chips."

"Correct."

"Is this in the interests of Ericsson? Ericsson is also a world-leading communications giant. Why would it help Qualcomm?" "Because it did infringe on the rights of others."

Zhou Shaoning felt a little embarrassed.

Zhou Buqi waved his hand and said, "Isn't it infringement if we use Qualcomm chips?"

Zhou Shaoning said: "That's right. Qualcomm is powerful because it is an alliance. Qualcomm's chips are very convenient because Qualcomm has already solved many patent issues. To buy Qualcomm chips, you have to pay two parts of money. One part is for the chip, and the other part is for the patent. Qualcomm will keep part of this patent fee in its own pocket, and the other part will be distributed to its partners."

Zhou Buqi vaguely understood, "Qualcomm's chip is actually a package of chipsets!"

Zhou Shaoning smiled and said, "Yes, that's what I mean."

Zhou Buqi said: "So purchasing Qualcomm chips actually requires paying Ericsson's patent fees."

Zhou Shaoning said, "That's what I mean. The patent fees that need to be paid when buying Qualcomm chips are clearly marked. Mobile phone manufacturers just need to pay the fees according to the standards. This is all bundled, very transparent, and clearly marked. This patent fee must be paid. Last year, Samsung paid Ericsson about $6 million in patent fees, and Asda paid about the same amount, $6.2 million."

Zhou Buqi understood now, "But MediaTek's industry strength is not that strong. If you buy MediaTek chips, there are no patent fees bundled behind them."

Zhou Shaoning nodded. "Yes, so if mobile phone manufacturers purchase MediaTek chips, they will need to negotiate with the patent holders and pay them patent fees separately. If they don't negotiate, they will be subject to patent lawsuits."

As the industry leader, Qualcomm's chips have achieved a high degree of industrial integration.

When purchasing Qualcomm chips, it is clearly marked which companies you need to pay patent fees to and how much patent fees you need to pay. There are also bundled terms and conditions, so you cannot buy the chips if you do not pay the patent fees.

This is a huge benefit to mobile phone manufacturers at the operational level.

Qualcomm has already solved all the patent issues in one package.

There is no need to negotiate additionally with those patent holders.

Mobile phone manufacturers only need to assemble and sell them.

No other worries.

MediaTek or self-developed chips will not work.

Behind every chip is the brainchild of scientists from all over the world, and may involve tens of thousands of communication patents. MediaTek does not have a package solution, so the purchaser can only negotiate with the patent holders individually.

In addition to assembly and sales, we also have to negotiate with the patent holder and pay patent fees.

If you don't pay, it's infringement.

Zhou Buqi narrowed his eyes and said, "It seems that purchasing MediaTek chips or using our own chips will be much more troublesome. If we use Qualcomm chips, Qualcomm has already taken care of all the patent issues, and we just need to pay the money according to the conditions. If we don't use Qualcomm chips, we have to negotiate with each company one by one."

Zhou Shaoning laughed.

"Hmm?" Zhou Buqi glanced at him, "What do you mean?"

Zhou Shaoning said: "If you want to pay the patent fee, it will be very troublesome. If you don't pay, it won't be a problem."

Zhou Buqi laughed out loud.

What a shameless spirit!
This is really the case. Just use MediaTek's chips or self-developed chips and use them without any hesitation. Make up your mind to infringe on the rights and do not go to the relevant patent holders to discuss patent licensing fees. Isn't this much simpler?
Zhou Shaoning smiled and said, "It saves money and is simple."

Zhou Buqi said: "So there is also the risk of being sued."

Zhou Shaoning said: "In fact, whoever is the rogue will have an easy time. The one who jumps out to solve the problem must be the one who is the most intolerant. In the case of infringement, the most intolerant is the patent owner, not the mobile phone manufacturer. So the trouble is reversed, and the patent owner has to come out to deal with these troubles."

Zhou Buqi said with a smile: "This is really a good idea. First, boldly infringe on others' rights. After that, the other party will naturally take the initiative to come to negotiate, and you don't have to go to each of their homes to negotiate. Open the door to entertain guests and wait for them to come to you on their own initiative."

Zhou Shaoning said: "If someone overlooks it, or they are afraid of trouble and don't come to us, then it is equivalent to saving a lot of money for the mobile phone manufacturers."