Huawei Technologies has filed two patent infringement lawsuits against Verizon Communications following an apparent failure to agree licensing terms for the use of its intellectual property.
The Chinese telecoms gear and smartphone-making giant said it had reached out to Verizon a year ago, notifying the US carrier of its breach of multiple Huawei patents. Among the offending pieces of technology are network security measures, remote sharing from a PC, parental controls and even the design of a contacts app for mobile devices.
Though the content of the legal action doesn’t appear to have the highest of stakes, it’s a fresh sign of Huawei’s increasingly combative stance toward US companies in the wake of crippling sanctions from Washington. Huawei sued the Federal Communications Commission in December, seeking to overturn a regulatory decision that would hurt the Chinese corporation’s business with its last major American clients.
Another point of legal conflict surrounds the arrest of chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver, Canada over a year ago. Meng, also the eldest daughter of billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei, is facing a potential extradition to the US for fraud charges, though she denies any wrongdoing.
Shenzhen-based Huawei is one of the world’s most prolific patent holders, with more than 80 000 worldwide and 10 000 in the US alone, the company said in a statement. It’s also one of the leading developers of 5G wireless networking tech. It joined IBM, Apple and Amazon as one of the top 10 patent receivers in the US last year, according to an analysis of filings with the US Patent and Trademark Office. Huawei said last year that it will not weaponise its vast IP pool and was discussing licensing of its portfolio of patents with European and US entities including Verizon and Qualcomm. — (c) 2020 Bloomberg LP
