(Yicai) July 15 -- Transsion Holdings, the world's largest smartphone maker by sales in Africa, said that US chip giant Qualcomm demands a globally uniform rate and is suing the Chinese firm for excessive license fees.

Transsion's sales network covers over 70 emerging markets, including some countries in Africa and South Asia, where some patentees do not own or own only a few patents, the Shenzhen-based company told Yicai regarding reports that Qualcomm is suing for patent infringement in India.

Qualcomm filed a lawsuit against Transsion, the manufacturer behind the Tecno Mobile, Itel Mobile, and Infinix Mobile brands, in India earlier this week and has filed claims in Europe and China over alleged patent infringement, Financial Times reported on July 12, citing Ann Chaplin, general counsel of Qualcomm.

"Transsion has declined to accept a license from Qualcomm for the majority of its mobile products, so we are pursuing litigation to enforce our rights," Chaplin noted.

Transsion respects the intellectual property rights of third parties and is fulfilling a fifth-generation standard patent license agreement signed with Qualcomm, it noted, but added that some patentees do not fully follow the principles of fairness, reasonableness, and non-discrimination.

Some patentees appealed for excessive license fees without taking into account factors, including differences in economic development in different regions, the fact that they have no patents or only a few patents in some areas and markets, and the existence of judicial precedent that supports different rates in different regions, Transsion pointed out.

Transsion ranked fourth in smartphone shipments worldwide for the first time in the three months ended Dec. 31, according to data from Canalys. It shipped 28.6 million smartphones in the first quarter of this year, taking a 10 percent market share and keeping the fourth spot.

Transsion's phones are usually priced at up to CNY3,000 (USD413), a source from a handset manufacturer familiar with overseas markets told Yicai.

Transsion's net profit surged 123 percent to CNY5.5 billion (USD757.3 million) last year from the prior one, while its revenue rose 34 percent to CNY62.3 billion (USD8.6 billion). Its gross profit margin reached 24 percent.

In late 2022, Transsion announced its entry into the global high-end smartphone market. Qualcomm still holds an advantage in the high-end phone chip market, and with the Chinese firm entering the middle and high-end markets, the chance of the pair dealing with each other grows.

Editors: Shi Yi, Martin Kadiev