Huawei in legal dispute against Verizon for unauthorized patent use

Huawei has filed a lawsuit with the Eastern and Western District courts in Texas against Verizon for patent infringement. The allegations against the carrier consist of the unauthorized use of 12 Huawei patents in the field of computer networking, download security and video services.

Dr. Song Liuping, Huawei’s Chief Legal Officer, has stated that Huawei’s results of years of research and development have been used by Verizon and explained that the purpose of the lawsuit is simply to receive the needed payment and recognition for the company’s hard work. Verizon has not commented on the situation, according to Reuters.

Since last February, Huawei and Verizon have held multiple meetings on the topic, but it appears they did not reach a consensus or a solution. In Huawei’s press release, Dr.Song also states that Huawei had tried to reach an agreement, but when these attempts were unsuccessful, they had no choice but to resort to court actions.

A person with direct knowledge on the topic, who asked to remain anonymous, has informed Reuters that Huawei has had six meetings with Verizon concerning 200 patents, but has decided to go forward with 12 of them in court, as those 12 have more evidence to back them up.

Huawei states that it is not against sharing advancement and expertise as such actions drive innovation, but it also believes in protection of intellectual rights. For its patent licences, since 2015, Huawei has earned more than $1.4 billion, and has also paid over $6 billion for the use of technologies developed by other companies, 80% of those fees were paid to companies in the US.

This is not the first time Huawei undertakes legal action in the US. Last december, it has submitted a petition against the FCC’s (the Federal Communications Commision) decision to ban Huawei products as a security threat and to prevent them from being purchased in US rural areas.