The Chinese firm said it was pursuing its South Korean rival in two courts - one in California, the other in Shenzhen.
According to Huawei, several of its cellular communications and software inventions had been used in Samsung's phones without its permission.
Samsung told the BBC it would defend its business interests.
The specific patents involved have not been disclosed.
However, Huawei has said at least some of them are classed as Frand - an acronym referring to "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory".
This means the Chinese company has committed itself to offering anyone a licence so long as they agree to a non-excessive compensation.
This kind of agreement is common in the tech sector as it makes it possible for different companies' products to communicate and share data formats with each other.
Huawei's intellectual property chief indicated it was seeking permission to use some of Samsung's technologies in return rather than seeking a payment.
"Thus far, we have signed cross-licensing agreements with dozens of our competitors," said Ding Jianxing.
"We hope Samsung will respect Huawei's R&D investment and patents, stop infringing our patents and get the necessary licence from Huawei, and work together with Huawei to jointly drive the industry forward."
A Samsung spokesperson responded in an email to the BBC saying "we will thoroughly review the complaint and take appropriate action to defend Samsung's business interests".
The action comes at a time when Oracle and Google are waiting for a jury to come back with a verdict in a copyright trial that has pitted the two giants against each other in the US.
But such clashes have become less common since Apple and Samsung's high-profile courtroom battle in 2011, which led to both firms revealing secrets about their inner workings and racking up large legal bills.
One expert noted that just because papers had been filed in the latest case did not mean Huawei and Samsung would necessarily fight a similar battle in public.
"Huawei may have initiated litigation as lever to get a settlement," commented Ilya Kazi from the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys.
"We don't know if it intends to go all the way through. Most cases do settle."

The Spanish club sacked coach Pako Ayestaran earlier this week after four straight league defeats left them bottom of La Liga.
They beat Alaves 2-1 on Thursday and are away at Leganes, another newly promoted club, on Sunday.
"There's so many new players, we don't know one another very well," said Nani.
Nani, 29, was one of several summer arrivals at Valencia when he joined from Fenerbahce in July.
The Euro 2016 winner with Portugal said the players will work hard to turn things around.
"The situation is not very good but we have so many games to go," Nani told BBC World Service's World Football programme.
"We have quality in the team but we haven't been getting the results.
"Sometimes it seems as though we are going to get the result and then we lose the game.
"I'm very confident we will have better results in the future."
Nani spent eight years at United before leaving for Sporting Lisbon in August 2014.
He helped United win four Premier League titles, one Champions League and two League Cups.
Listen to BBC World Service's World Football programme
Huawei is suing its tech rival Samsung over claims that its patents have been infringed.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
Valencia's poor start to the season is partly down to the players not knowing one another very well, according to former Manchester United winger Nani.