World No 2 Huawei seeks EU action

World No. 2 telecoms equipment maker Huawei has called for EU antitrust regulators to intervene in a dispute with InterDigital, saying the U.S.-based firm is demanding "exploitative" fees for use of its mobile phone patents. Huawei filed a complaint with the European Commission on Wednesday, after failing to reach a deal with the wireless technology patent holder, making it the latest company to take a patent grievance to the EU watchdog. "Huawei... has decided to take this action because it believes that the licensing fees that InterDigital is requesting are exploitative, discriminatory and violate FRAND policies (fair and reasonable and non-discriminatory)," Huawei said in a statement. It said such actions also breach EU antitrust rules. "They would also penalise European consumers because the fees, if paid, would significantly increase the cost of Huawei's mobile devices and even restrict consumer access to telecommunications technology," Huawei said.