HUAWEI Technologies Co. has filed patent infringement lawsuits against U.S. carrier Verizon Communications Inc. following an apparent failure to agree licensing terms for the use of its intellectual property.

Shenzhen-based Huawei is seeking compensation for the use of its technology in areas such as computer networking, download security and video communications, and is also seeking ongoing royalty payments, showed documents filed with the Eastern and Western District courts in Texas of the United States.

The Chinese telecom gear and smartphone-making giant said it had reached out to Verizon a year ago, notifying the U.S. carrier of its breach of multiple Huawei patents.

Verizon has previously declined to comment on its patent dispute with Huawei.

“Verizon’s products and services have benefited from patented technology that Huawei developed over many years of research and development,” Huawei’s chief legal office said in a statement.

“Huawei is simply asking that Verizon respect Huawei’s investment in research and development by either paying for the use of our patents, or refraining from using them in its products and services.”

Huawei could not provide a figure on the compensation as it does not have a breakdown of the patents’ alleged contribution to Verizon’s services, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

In the court documents, Huawei said Verizon has “profited greatly” from its technology, with the U.S. firm’s Wireline segment, which covers voice, data and video communications products, generating revenue of US$29.8 billion in 2018.

Huawei and Verizon held six face-to-face meetings over the matter since February last year but did not reach an agreement, said the person.

In June, The Wall Street Journal reported that Huawei was seeking compensation from Verizon for the use of more than 200 of its patents.

The Chinese company decided to take action for 12 patents because it considered evidence for them was clearest and that the number was manageable for the court, the person said.

The legal action against Verizon is a fresh sign of Huawei’s increasingly combative stance toward U.S. companies in the wake of crippling sanctions from Washington. Huawei sued the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in December, seeking to overturn a regulatory decision that would hurt the Chinese corporation’s business with its last major American clients.

Huawei is “still confident” in legal proceedings in the United States, the person said.

Huawei is one of the world’s most prolific patent holders, with more than 80,000 worldwide and 10,000 in the United States alone, the company said in a statement Thursday.

It’s also one of the leading developers of fifth-generation wireless networking tech, or 5G. It joined IBM, Apple and Amazon as one of the top 10 patent receivers in the United States last year, according to an analysis of filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Huawei said last summer that it will not weaponize its vast IP pool and was discussing licensing of its portfolio of patents with European and U.S. entities including Verizon and Qualcomm Inc. (SD-Agencies)