Huawei sues Verizon in U.S. court for patent infringement

Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Chinese telecommunications company Huawei is suing Verizon for patent infringement over technologies the American carrier uses for its network.

Two lawsuits, filed Thursday in federal courts in two Texas districts, say Verizon breached 12 Huawei patents for technologies related to network security, parental controls and apps for mobile devices.

The Chinese company said it spent a year trying to work out a licensing deal to allow Verizon to use the technologies, without success.

"For years now we have successfully negotiated patent license agreements with many companies. Unfortunately, when no agreement can be reached, we have no choice but to seek a legal remedy," Huawei Chief Legal Officer Song Liuping told CNBC.

Although its hardware is relatively rare in the United States, Huawei holds nearly 90,000 commonly used patents worldwide and about 10,000 in the United States. To date, it's also one of the largest providers of 5G wireless technology.

The suit against Verizon follows Huawei's legal counter-offensive to fight a U.S. blacklist that barred it from working with American suppliers. The Chinese firm filed a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission in December to roll back regulations that block federal subsidies to U.S. companies that buy Huawei equipment.