InterDigital 'threatened' over bid to collect Huawei patent royalty

InterDigital chief executive William Merritt said the Chinese government is threatening the US company over its bid to collect patent royalties from phonemaker Huawei Technologies.

The National Development and Reform Commission said it "couldn't guarantee the safety of people" sent on behalf of the chief executive or the company's US lawyers to a meeting scheduled for today, Merritt said.

"It takes the process and puts it in a different place," he said. "There's nothing in that statement that can be positive."

An investigation began in China after InterDigital, which owns patents on fundamental mobile-phone technology, filed an infringement complaint against Huawei and other handset manufacturers at the International Trade Commission in the United States.

The US agency is scheduled to issue a final decision on the case tomorrow. The meeting with Chinese officials was scheduled for today.

"From everything we heard, they wanted us over before that date" of the final US trade decision, Merritt said. "There was some pressure being put on us in China to get ahead of the ITC case."

InterDigital sent a letter to the Chinese officials saying they would not attend the meeting because of the threats.