INDIA – 2019/08/30: In this photo illustration a popular wireless communication application Verizon logo seen displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by
Avishek Das | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images
Huawei has filed two lawsuits against Verizon alleging the U.S. carrier infringed patents held by the Chinese telecoms giant.
Even though Huawei has a tiny presence in the U.S., American companies like Verizon will still use patented technology from Huawei. That’s because the Chinese firm holds over 87,000 patents globally with 11,000 of those being in the U.S.
Thousands of elements of that intellectual property (IP) will be “standard essential patents,” which are technologies critical for mobile networks including 3G, 4G and now 5G.
Other firms, including some of Huawei’s rivals, will need to use the patented technology for telecommunications networks.
Huawei claims it has been trying to negotiate royalty payments with Verizon “for a significant period of time” but were “unable to reach an agreement on license terms.”
Verizon was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
