Verizon should pay to “solve the patent licensing issue,” a Huawei intellectual property licensing executive wrote in February, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier. The patents cover network equipment for more than 20 of the company’s vendors, including major US tech firms, but those vendors would indemnify Verizon, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Some of those firms reportedly have already been approached by Huawei directly.
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Verizon spokesman Rich Young declined to comment “regarding this specific issue because it’s a potential legal matter.”
“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,” Young added.
On Wednesday, Huawei released a memo protesting the US' attempts to throttle it, alleging that it was being targeted “simply for being Chinese”. US intelligence agencies have previously accused the company of putting 'backdoor' access tools into its devices, enabling the Chinese government to spy on users. Huawei has repeatedly denied this.
