Huawei requires US operator Verizon to pay $1 billion in patent fees for more than 230 patents

According to the Wall Street Journal, Huawei is currently asking Verizon, the largest US network operator, to pay $1 billion in patent fees for more than 230 patents. The source had already proposed to Verizon about patent-related issues at the beginning of the year, but until now the two sides have not reached an agreement on patent issues. Due to the control of Huawei by the US Department of Commerce, Verizon is no longer a Huawei customer, so Verizon naturally has to pay the corresponding fees for the patent.

“Verizon” by JeepersMedia is licensed under CC-BY 2.0

The use of Huawei patents is not only Verizon itself, but also those suppliers that provide network equipment for Verizon also use patents held by Huawei. Of course, these patent license fees are still paid by Verizon to Huawei. At that time, those suppliers of Verizon will pay Verizon the relevant fees.

The patent representatives of Huawei and Verizon have met in New York in the United States last week on this issue, and the main discussion part includes controversial patent issues. Verizon official said that it is currently unable to comment on this issue because it involves potential legal issues, and the current issues are not unique to Verizon.

Patents mainly involve core network equipment, wired network infrastructure, and Internet of Things technologies. For Verizon, these patents seem to be inescapable. Verizon has reported to the US official on this matter, and it is unclear how Verizon and US officials will deal with the patent in the current situation.