A document recently disclosed by a Brazilian court reveals that Huawei and MediaTek have reached a settlement regarding their patent dispute, which is directly linked to Brazil's customs authorities previously seizing MediaTek chips. Concurrently, patent pool management organization Access Advance has updated the licensee list for its VVC Advance patent pool, with Huawei now included. Notably, MediaTek's subsidiary HFI Innovation has long been a licensor to VVC Advance and previously filed a lawsuit against Huawei at the Mannheim Regional Division of the Unified Patent Court.

Regarding the settlement, Huawei stated: “Both parties have agreed to resolve all patent disputes between them. Specific settlement terms remain confidential.”

The dispute originated in March 2022 when Huawei sought patent licensing from MediaTek based on its portfolio of 5G standard essential patents (SEPs). MediaTek rejected the proposal, asserting that Huawei's demands violated the FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory) principles. After 26 months of negotiations without resolution, the parties ultimately filed lawsuits in May 2024. While cases in multiple countries remain pending, Brazilian courts took the lead this spring by issuing two preliminary injunctions—one involving a 4G standard essential patent and another concerning an Enhanced Voice Services (EVS) standard essential patent.

In Huawei v. MediaTek, the Brazilian court's issuance of import bans took significantly less time than the process for applying for a limited exclusion order with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). Crucially, the U.S. has never actually enforced an import ban based on SEPs—the ITC's sole historical exclusion order related to SEPs against Apple was vetoed by the White House.

According to the ruling published in Brazil's National Electronic Law Gazette on April 11, 2025 (Case No. 0838699-48.2025.8.19.0001), the court not only prohibited MediaTek's relevant actions but also explicitly required customs authorities to cooperate in enforcement, instructing the Federal Revenue Service to “take appropriate measures in accordance with the prohibition on the sale of these products nationwide.” Two weeks later, the court issued a second preliminary injunction (Case No. 0838499-41.2025.8.19.0001), again requiring customs cooperation in enforcement.

On October 8, 2025, the Gazette further disclosed that the court had approved a settlement between the parties under Article 487 of the Code of Civil Procedure, terminating the enforcement proceedings. The same document also indicated that prior customs enforcement had yielded tangible results: Manaus Port Customs detained a shipment of MediaTek chips in case ID 231926048. The sequence of events is clear: MediaTek's goods were seized at Manaus Port, a four-hour flight from Rio, ultimately leading to a settlement between the parties and the release of the cargo.

As the world's seventh most populous nation and fifth-largest smartphone market and manufacturing hub, Brazil attracts companies like Samsung, Motorola Mobility (owned by Lenovo), and even Apple to establish production facilities. MediaTek is one of the country's primary mobile chip suppliers. While its chips are sold in the Taiwanese market, they are imported into Brazil through internal transactions with companies like Samsung and Motorola. Such “prohibitions on goods” remain valid despite the first-sale doctrine.

This case also highlights the efficiency advantage of Brazil's patent customs enforcement. ITC cases typically take 17–18 months, plus an additional 60 days for presidential review, resulting in an actual enforcement cycle approaching 20 months. In contrast, Brazil achieved actual seizure of goods within just 5–6 months from filing the preliminary injunction request.

Litigation Timeline:

Starting in April 2024, Huawei filed successive patent infringement lawsuits against MediaTek in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou, China, alleging violations of patents related to 4G, 5G, and other cellular communication technologies.

In response, MediaTek and its subsidiaries HFI Innovation and MTK Wireless filed successive patent infringement lawsuits against Huawei in Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, and Hangzhou, China, in July 2024. They also initiated antitrust litigation in Beijing, China, and the Regional Court of Mannheim, Germany, while filing a lawsuit in the High Court of England and Wales to confirm global FRAND licensing terms.

On July 15, 2024, MediaTek and its subsidiaries HFI Innovation and MTK Wireless sued Huawei for patent infringement in the High Court of England and Wales, case number HP-2024-000028.

On March 18, 2025, the High Court of England and Wales ruled on the patent dispute between MediaTek and Huawei: it dismissed Huawei's jurisdictional challenge regarding the FRAND royalty dispute, rejected its request to suspend UK proceedings, confirmed UK jurisdiction over the case, and permitted Huawei to appeal certain rulings.

On March 24 and 25, 2025, Huawei filed lawsuits against MediaTek and MediaTek Germany at the Munich division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), alleging infringement of multiple patents (ACT_13761/2025, ACT_14180/2025).

In spring 2025, Brazilian courts issued two preliminary injunctions prohibiting imports of MediaTek-related products and directing customs authorities to assist in enforcement.

On April 15, 2025, the UK High Court approved MediaTek's application for accelerated FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory licensing) proceedings.

On May 13, 2025, the Supreme Court dismissed MediaTek's challenge to jurisdiction in the Huawei SEP case.

On May 16, 2025, MediaTek subsidiary HFI Innovation sued five Huawei companies in the Mannheim division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) for infringing its European patent EP2689624. This marked MediaTek's first lawsuit against Huawei in the UPC.

On July 4, 2025, the UK High Court again rejected Huawei's application for case management suspension and denied its leave to appeal (Case No.: HP-2024-000028).

On October 8, 2025, Brazilian court documents publicly confirmed that Huawei and MediaTek had reached a comprehensive settlement. Concurrently, Huawei appeared on the list of licensees for the VVC Advance patent pool managed by Access Advance.

Thus concluded this global patent dispute, spanning the jurisdictions of China, the UK, Germany, Brazil, and the UPC, which had persisted for over a year and a half. The conflict ultimately ended with a settlement between the two parties.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)