Verizon and Huawei have revealed they have settled patent disputes that had reached the trial stage in Texas a few weeks ago. The disagreements principally surrounded patents Huawei holds pertaining to Optical Transport Network (OTN) technology. While both sides proclaimed themselves pleased at the result, details of that result remain undisclosed.
Huawei filed a pair of suits early last year in the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas, respectively, that alleged Verizon infringed 12 of Huawei’s U.S. patents (see “Huawei sues Verizon for infringing patents”). At least five of those patents pertained to aspects of the ITU-T’s G.709 OTN standards, which Huawei is under obligation to license in a fair and reasonable manner. Verizon called the suits “a PR stunt,” and separately asserted Huawei’s proposed license terms failed to meet the ITU-T prescribed parameters. Verizon filed counterclaims in court as well.
Trial proceedings in the Eastern District court began earlier this month and are now halted because of the settlement. “Verizon is happy with the settlement reached with Huawei involving patent lawsuits. While terms of the settlement are not being disclosed, our team did an outstanding job bringing this protracted matter to a close. Our company continues to focus on what truly matters: providing millions of consumers and businesses with outstanding technology built on America's most reliable networks,” Verizon said via a statement attributed to spokesperson Rich Young.
Huawei released a similar statement to media outlets, repeating that the conditions of the agreement are confidential.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.