Samsung Electronics Co. of the Republic of Korea has been ordered to pay 50 million yuan (US$7.3 million) to a company in east China's Zhejiang Province for infringing the latter's dual-mode cell phone patent.

The rule was made by the Intermediate People's Court of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Provinces on Saturday.

Zhejiang-based Holley Communications alleged last year that cell phones made by Sumsung violated its patent which allowed cellphones to operate on both CDMA and GSM networks.

"Samsung has sold more than 700,000 cell phones that contain Holley's patented technologies. The patents are still on sale. The compensation is only part of the sales," Ge Chen, Holley's executive director, told Xinhua Monday.

The patent of CDMA/GSM double-mode mobile communication method and its communication equipment was obtained in 2002, it said.

This has been the largest compensation in China's cell phone industry, but officers of Holley said they would continue to seek more compensation.

"We are sincere to hold discussions with Sumsung in an attempt to resolve the issue of compensation," he said.

The 20-month patent dispute started when Holley filed the lawsuit in April 2007, calling for a stop of the violation and seeking compensation.

A month later, Sumsung requested that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) declare that the patent was invalid.

The court opened the session in May this year after the SIPO made a response to declare it valid.

(Xinhua News Agency December 23, 2008)