TCL Communication

TCL Communication Technology Holdings Limited ("TCL Communication") is a Shenzhen, China-headquartered mobile-device manufacturer founded in March 1999. The holding company was incorporated in the Cayman Islands in February 2004 and was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (2618) from 2004 until a 2016 privatization by TCL Industries. Since 31 August 2020 it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of TCL Electronics Holdings Limited (HKEX: 1070), which bought 100% of the company from affiliate Zhengjia Investment for RMB 1.5 billion; TCL Communication is therefore part of the wider TCL group. Mid-2010s company disclosures cited roughly 13,000–15,000 employees and revenue of about HK$28.6 billion (2015); no separate current headcount or revenue figure is published for the entity.

Products/operations. TCL Communication designs, manufactures and sells mobile terminals and connectivity products — smartphones, tablets, mobile broadband and smart CPE routers, wearables, AR/VR devices and accessories — under the TCL and Alcatel brands, distributed in more than 150 countries, along with mobile internet applications and services. Alcatel is a licensed trademark; the group's main manufacturing base is in Huizhou, Guangdong, and its US operating subsidiary is TCT Mobile (US) Inc. (Irvine, California).

Litigation posture. The tracked data show 0 plaintiff cases and 2 defendant cases, both in the District of Delaware — the profile of an operating company defending infringement claims, not an NPE asserting a portfolio. Neither tracked case is in the Eastern District of Texas.

Notable cases. (1) Cedar Lane Technologies Inc. v. TCL Communication, Inc., D. Del., filed 22 June 2020, asserting acquired imaging patents (US 6,473,527; 6,516,147; 6,566,805; 6,972,774; 6,972,790). Cedar Lane is a Canadian NPE formed in 2019 that acquired patents from Intellectual Ventures and has filed hundreds of suits. (2) Fundamental Innovation Systems International LLC v. TCT Mobile (US) Inc. et al., D. Del. (1:20-cv-00552), asserting former BlackBerry USB charging/power-management patents; FISI is a Delaware NPE backed by Centerbridge Partners with 20+ suits against handset and PC makers. TCL affiliates also filed related IPR petitions against FISI patents.