Huawei shrugs off Verizon patent talks as ‘common’ business

HONG KONG: Huawei said its patent talks with U.S. carrier Verizon is “common” business activity and such negotiations should not be politicised, days after a senator filed legislation to prevent the Chinese firm from seeking damages in American courts.

The company has demanded that Verizon pay licensing fees for more than 230 of the telecoms equipment maker’s patents and is seeking over $1 billion, a person has told Reuters, against a background of mounting U.S.-China trade tensions.