Huawei has dragged Verizon to court over unauthorised use of its patents in two different lawsuits according to CNN. Both companies are spearheading the 5G innovation and many see this as the beginning of the 5G wars.
While 5G has been much talked about since the last months of 2019, little mention has been made of Verizon. Chinese tech giants, Huawei and America’s Qualcomm have instead dominated headlines.
Samsung also seemed to be doing the most with smartphones that can use the 5G network hitting the market already.
However, Verizon somehow sneaked up and reared its head in the 5G tech race. The American company had been among the first to test the network at the Super Bowl 2020. Now, it claims to be already providing the network in some selected cities.
In the latest development, Huawei has asked that Verizon pay it for using its patents for optical transmission, digital communications and related services. Since Huawei is not allowed to trade with US companies and vice-versa because of the Trump Administration’s ban, how is Verizon using its patent?
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The CNN article explains that it is likely that the United States-based network buys telecommunications equipment that uses the Chinese company’s technology from other vendors. Huawei now claims that some of these techs don’t have cross-license agreements yet.
Although there is not yet much information about the case, Huawei’s legal representative has commented on the case. Despite not saying how much the Chinese firm wants, Huawei chief legal officer Song Liuping said:
“For years now we have successfully negotiated patent license agreements with many companies. This is the [sic] common practice in the industry. Huawei is simply asking that Verizon respect Huawei’s investment in research and development by either paying for the use of our patents, or refraining from using them in its products and services.”
The New York Times has also reported that Verizon’s only response so far is calling the lawsuit a ‘PR stunt’. Huawei, on the other hand, continues to find ways to survive despite been unable to access US markets directly.
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