LIMA/SHANGHAI: China’s Huawei has applied to trademark its “Hongmeng” operating system (OS) in at least nine countries and Europe, data from a UN body shows, in a sign it may be deploying a back-up plan in key markets as US sanctions threaten its business model.
The move comes after the Trump administration put Huawei on a blacklist last month that barred it from doing business with US tech companies such as Alphabet, whose Android OS is used in Huawei’s phones.
Since then, Huawei — the world’s biggest maker of telecoms network gear — has filed for a Hongmeng trademark in countries such as Cambodia, Canada, South Korea and New Zealand, data from the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) shows.
It also filed an application in Peru on May 27, according to the country’s anti-trust agency Indecopi.
Huawei has a back-up OS in case it is cut off from US-made software, Richard Yu, CEO of the firm’s consumer division, told German newspaper Die Welt in an interview earlier this year.
The firm, also the world’s second-largest maker of smartphones, has not yet revealed details about its OS.
Its applications to trademark the OS show Huawei wants to use “Hongmeng” for gadgets ranging from smartphones, portable computers to robots and car televisions.
At home, Huawei applied for a Hongmeng trademark in August last year and received a nod last month, according to a filing on China’s intellectual property administration’s website.
Huawei declined to comment.
According to WIPO data, the earliest Huawei applications to trademark the Hongmeng OS outside China were made on May 14 to the European Union Intellectual Property Office and South Korea, or right after the United States flagged it would stick Huawei on an export blacklist.
Huawei has come under mounting scrutiny for over a year, led by US allegations that “back doors” in its routers, switches and other gear could allow China to spy on US communications.
The company has denied its products pose a security threat.
However, consumers have been spooked by how matters have escalated, with many looking to offload their devices on worries they would be cut off from Android updates in the wake of the US blacklist.
Huawei’s hopes to become the world’s top selling smartphone maker in the fourth quarter this year have now been delayed, a senior Huawei executive said this week.
Peru’s Indecopi has said it needs more information from Huawei before it can register a trademark for Hongmeng in the country, where there are some 5.5 million Huawei phone users.
The agency did not give details on the documents it had sought, but said Huawei had up to nine months to respond.
Huawei representatives in Peru declined to provide immediate comment, while the Chinese embassy in Lima did not respond to requests for comment.
Huawei files to trademark mobile OS around the world after US ban
Huawei files to trademark mobile OS around the world after US ban
- The move comes after the Trump administration put Huawei on a blacklist last month that barred it from doing business with US tech companies
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,452
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Tuesday, losing 137.26 points, or 1.30 percent, to close at 10,452.91.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.61 billion ($964.2 million), as 25 of the listed stocks advanced, while 235 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 16.79 points or 1.21 percent, to close at 1,374.55.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 246.13 points, or 1.04 percent, to close at 23,470.28. This comes as 23 of the listed stocks advanced, while 51 retreated.
The best-performing stock was AlAhli REIT Fund 1, with its share price surging by 4.15 percent to SR6.52.
Other top performers included Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Co., which saw its share price rise by 3.47 percent to SR15.80, and Arabian Drilling Co., which saw a 1.53 percent increase to SR96.35.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was CHUBB Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., whose share price fell by 5.40 percent to SR20.66.
Sport Clubs Co. and Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 5.10 percent and 4.76 percent to SR8.75 and SR7, respectively.
On the announcements front, Saudi Arabia Refineries Co. has formally established its new subsidiary, Clean Energy Co., announcing the completion of its articles of association and commercial registration.
The wholly owned limited liability company, headquartered in Bish City, is slated to operate in the critical sectors of metal mining, organic chemical manufacturing, and the production of primary gases, including liquid and compressed air.
According to the official announcement on Tadawul, the subsidiary will commence operations after finalizing all remaining incorporation requirements, which encompass administrative and technical arrangements as well as securing the necessary operational licenses.
The move marks a strategic expansion for the parent company into the industrial and clean energy supply chain. Sarco’s shares traded 0.93 percent lower on the main market today to reach SR53.
