Huawei takes Samsung to court over LTE patent.

Two of the world's largest phone manufacturers are facing off over the core technology that powers LTE. Today, the Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei filed suit against Samsung over its use of 11 standard-essential patents owned by Huawei. According to Huawei's complaint, Samsung has failed to properly license the patents, but continues to make use of them in all its LTE-equipped devices.

The lawsuit appears to be the result of a breakdown in licensing negotiation. All LTE-capable phones use some form of these patents, and such patents are routinely cross-licensed between technology companies. The details of the negotiations between Huawei and Samsung are still confidential (and much of the complaint is sealed and redacted as a result), but the usual talks appear to have broken down.

"In this instance, while we would always prefer to go the negotiating route, we have been compelled to go to the courts to protect our investment in R&D," a Huawei representative told The Verge. "At present, we are not receiving royalties for the use of our intellectual property."