341: Chapter 341: There was no fear of being prosecuted, only global joy.

"They have sued us for patent infringement in the United States, and the court has already docketed the case."

Shen Fei looked at Li Qing, showing no panic.

After all, this was merely another probe by the United States.

When Ericsson's complaint arrived at Transsion headquarters, Shen Fei was still holding a preparatory meeting for Transsion Smart Home.

After all, professional matters were best left to professionals; the legal department would handle this issue.

Midway through, Li Qing pushed the door open, walked in, and placed a document in front of him, his expression neither too tense nor too relaxed.

"Boss, Ericsson has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

They didn't sue in one or two European courts simultaneously; instead, they went straight to the Eastern District of the United States."

The Eastern District of the United States was the most patent-holder-friendly court in the world.

One could even say the juries here showed almost brainless favoritism toward local patent holders. The plaintiff's win rate consistently hovered as high as 55%, nearly double the average across the United States, and damages awarded often ran into the hundreds of millions.

For example, Samsung was once ordered to pay $445 million to a patent troll here, Micron had been hit with a staggering fine of nearly $450 million, and Apple had also been ordered by a jury here to pay $300 million.

Yet upon appeal, it was discovered that the court hadn't even had the jury reach a consensus on which patent was actually infringed. The procedural loopholes were ridiculously massive.

Ericsson's choice to sue here made it clear they wanted to drag the patent war into their most advantageous home turf.

This wasn't just a lawsuit; it was directly slapping Transsion with a hell-mode "debuff." It was a tough battle with absolutely no buffer zone.

Sure enough, when Shen Fei opened the complaint, it totaled 120 pages, densely packed with legal jargon and patent numbers.

Ericsson claimed that Transsion had infringed upon more than a dozen of its standard-essential patents, covering core communication technologies from 2G to 4G.

They requested the court to issue an injunction banning the sale of Transsion phones in the United States and demanded astronomical damages.

Seeing the injunction request, Shen Fei instantly understood that rather than Nokia's lawsuit, this was more like the United States' lawsuit.

"They've gotten smarter," he said, closing the complaint. "They aren't following in Nokia's footsteps.

Right now, because of China's strong stance, European courts don't dare to make reckless rulings.

The Eastern District of the United States is different. That's their home ground, and the jurors there are exceptionally friendly to patent holders. In the end, whatever they rule will be deemed 'reasonable'."

Huang Tianya took the report and looked it over. Ericsson's legal team had indeed prepared thoroughly, and these patents indeed posed a problem.

"Mr. Shen, I've looked it over. Ericsson is very well-prepared this time.

They've hired a top-tier U.S. patent litigation firm, and it's said they've already prepaid 10 million dollars in attorney fees.

Furthermore, all the patents they've selected are standard-essential patents—the kind that cannot be bypassed."

"If we can't bypass them, then we fight them head-on." Shen Fei smiled. Trying to disgust him with standard-essential patents? They clearly hadn't considered which manufacturer actually held the most standard patents.

Everyone present smiled. After all, the current Transsion possessed core patents from Huawei and Motorola, as well as licenses from Nokia and Qualcomm. They had absolutely nothing to fear.

Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan, the legal director, nodded. He held a briefcase stuffed with case files, from which he pulled out a stack of materials and flipped to a marked page.

"Although they are currently suing us, strictly speaking, their lawsuit is invalid.

Because Motorola itself has a patent cross-licensing agreement with Ericsson, we can argue patent exhaustion. However, this argument doesn't have a high chance of success in a U.S. court."

Shen Fei nodded. After all, that Motorola shell had already been converted into cold, hard cash and countless patents. If he had known, he wouldn't have sold it so early.

Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan briefed Shen Fei on a few more pages of information before speaking seriously.

"Boss, we currently have two directions for a counterattack.

First, we countersue Ericsson for abusing its dominant market position.

They have always had abuse issues regarding standard-essential patent licensing, charging rates far above a reasonable level.

The European Union's antitrust authorities have investigated them before, though they eventually settled.

We can reopen this subject."

Shen Fei nodded, and Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan continued, "Second, we directly attack the validity of their patents. Standard-essential patents are not necessarily all valid.

We can bring in expert witnesses to prove that their patents are invalid or non-essential.

This route takes longer, but once we win, their entire patent licensing fee model will be shaken."

Shen Fei looked at the words "Antitrust" and "Patent Invalidity" appearing on the PPT, with a final arrow pointing toward "EU Complaint."

Since the other party wanted to give the United States a reason to target Transsion, they could retaliate in the exact same way.

"On the European Union side, we already have experience from dealing with Nokia before.

This time, we'll follow the same script and report Ericsson again."

Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan nodded.

"I already had our law firms in Europe prepare the materials beforehand.

We've established contact with Brussels, and we can submit them tomorrow."

Shen Fei looked at the preparation plan on the PPT:

"Then we will fight on three fronts simultaneously.

In the United States, we will actively respond to the lawsuit, refuse to settle, and drag it out for a year or two if we have to.

Then, we'll file an antitrust complaint in the European Union to set fire to Ericsson's backyard. Meanwhile, we'll also conduct an antitrust investigation here in China—after all, they have business operations in China as well."

Zhang Mingzhu nodded. "As for the antitrust investigation on our side, I can have my dad communicate with the Department of Commerce.

Ericsson also has some business in the domestic telecom equipment market.

Whether it's the maintenance of older models or bidding for 4G networks, once they are investigated, their losses will be far greater than ours, and they will suffer immediate damage."

Ericsson was different from Nokia. Nokia had nothing left to lose; its mobile phone business had long been sold, leaving only its patents to keep up appearances.

Ericsson was different. They still held a massive share of the global telecom equipment market, especially in China, where the three major carriers were all their clients.

If China's Department of Commerce truly initiated an antitrust investigation, Ericsson's losses would be catastrophic.

The money they might win from the patent lawsuit might not even cover the fines.

"Boss, the trickiest problem is..."

Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan frowned slightly, then flipped up the page of the report in his hand.

"There is definitely the shadow of the United States government behind Ericsson's lawsuit this time.

Nokia just lost its case, so the United States needs a new proxy to continue suppressing Transsion.

Ericsson is the most suitable choice. They have the technology, the patents, and the political backing."

Shen Fei took the report, looked at it, and then smiled.

"Transsion is gaining more and more international rivals: Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung, Apple...

Let them come one by one; we'll fight them one by one."

There was not a trace of panic on Shen Fei's face—only the thrill of one man challenging the entire world!