Huawei sues Verizon over comms patent infringements
Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei has filed two lawsuits against Verizon, claiming the US company infringed 12 of its “ standard essential patents” covering various forms of electronic communication.
The lawsuits, filed at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and the US District Court for the Western District of Texas, are seeking compensation and royalty payments from the US telecoms carrier for the use of Huawei’s networking, security, and video communications technology.
“Verizon has committed and continues to commit acts of infringement [having] made, used, sold, offered to sell and/or imported into the US systems and/or devices that comply with the G.709 standard in connection with Verizon’s optical transport network systems,” said Huawei.
The G.709 standard describes a means of communicating data over an optical network, and, according to the filing, since 2005 “Huawei has participated in (and submitted) contributions to the standardization process for the Telecommunication Standardization Sector of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU-T),” including for the G.709 standard.
The International Telecommunication Union is an agency of the United Nations responsible for issues related to information and communication technologies.
“Some of Huawei’s contributions that were adopted in the G.709 Standard were Huawei inventions, described in patents and/or patent applications,” said the filing. “Consistent with the ITU-T’s Common Patent Policy, Huawei declared that it was willing to negotiate licenses on a non-discriminatory basis on reasonable terms and conditions for its granted patents and/or pending applications, the use of which would be required to implement the G.709 Standard.”
“Optical network transport technology has become a key component in meeting the modern demand for high-speed, reliable communication over various types of networks,” said Huawei.
“Verizon uses this technology to transmit massive amounts of data in a stable and safe way from numerous base stations or access points to remote destinations. Thus, the technology is important to the core of Verizon’s business, enabling individuals and businesses to place calls, access the net, and transport data safely, reliably, and quickly,” continued Huawei.
Prior to filing this lawsuit, Huawei claims it took “specific steps to protect its intellectual property in light of Verizon’s infringement”, including several meetings, both in person and on the phone, to “discuss Verizon’s need for a license to use Huawei’s patents”.
The Chinese company specifically identified “patents from its portfolio and specific services offered by Verizon that infringed Huawei’s patents, including those at issue in this case”.
Huawei is seeking a judgment and order requiring defendants to pay “damages, costs, expenses, and any enhanced damages”.
It is also seeking “a judgment and order requiring defendants to provide an accounting and to pay supplemental damages [and] an order requiring defendants to pay ongoing royalties”.
Both companies have been contacted for additional comments.
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