Ren Zhengfei talks about Verizon's 1 billion patent fee: Huawei's asking price is fair and reasonable

Huawei is not only the world's largest telecommunications equipment supplier and the world's third largest smartphone manufacturer, but also has leapt into the forefront of the world in terms of patents. According to Huawei's Innovation and Intellectual Property White Paper, as of the end of 2018, Huawei had obtained a total of 87,805 authorized patents, of which 11,152 were US patents. Since 2015, Huawei's intellectual property income has accumulated more than US$1.4 billion. 

In terms of patent licensing, Huawei has paid more than $6 billion in patent fees for the legal use of other companies' patents, of which nearly 80% was paid to American companies. However, this year, Huawei has made a significant change, that is, it has begun to collect patent fees from American companies. In mid-June, Huawei asked Verizon, the largest operator in the United States, to pay more than 230 patents for a total of more than $1 billion.

In the past, it was mainly American companies that asked Chinese companies for money in patent licensing. This time, Huawei charged American companies, which aroused strong dissatisfaction among some US congressmen. Senator Marco Rubio proposed a new bill in the US Congress, calling for the inclusion of a non-recognition of Huawei's patents in the US in the new US National Defense Authorization Program Amendment, and not allowing Huawei to sue US companies for infringing on Huawei's patents.

Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, explained the issue of patent fees in an interview a few days ago. He said, "Huawei has nearly 90,000 patents in total, of which more than 11,500 core patents are registered in the United States and authorized by the US government. The United States has given us legal rights. The United States is a country ruled by law. It should be said that every company that uses our patents will pay us. Verizon is the company that is negotiating patent licenses now. Our asking price is reasonable, and they should know it in their hearts. Compared with Qualcomm, it is very polite, and they should pay. I believe that the United States is a country ruled by law, and American companies will pay patent fees. The $1 billion is the total amount for 5 years, not including 5G, and 5G will be discussed again in the future."