Huawei asks Verizon to pay for over 200 patents - WSJ

Huawei asks Verizon to pay for over 200 patents - WSJ
FILE PHOTO: A Huawei company logo is seen at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) Asia 2019 in Shanghai, China June 11, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song Copyright ALY SONG(Reuters)
Copyright ALY SONG(Reuters)
By Reuters
Share this articleComments
Share this articleClose Button

(Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd has told Verizon Communications Inc that the U.S. carrier should pay licensing fees for more than 200 of the Chinese telecoms equipment maker's patents, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Verizon should pay to "solve the patent licensing issue," a Huawei intellectual property licensing executive wrote in February, according to the report.

The patents in question range from core network equipment, wireline infrastructure to internet-of-things technology, the WSJ reported.

Representatives for Huawei and Verizon met last week in New York to discuss some of the patents at issue, the WSJ said. Verizon does not use any telecoms equipment from Huawei.

Verizon spokesman Rich Young declined to comment "regarding this specific issue because it's a potential legal matter."

However, Young said, "These issues are larger than just Verizon. Given the broader geopolitical context, any issue involving Huawei has implications for our entire industry and also raise national and international concerns."

A person briefed on the matter said it could impact more than a dozen Verizon vendors.

The United States last month put Huawei on a blacklist that barred it from doing business with U.S. companies on security grounds without government approval, prompting some global tech firms to cut ties with the world's largest telecoms equipment maker.

Huawei and U.S. wireless carriers Sprint Corp, AT&T Inc and T-Mobile US Inc did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

(Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Sriraj Kalluvila)

Share this articleComments

You might also like