AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile fend off Asus patent lawsuit

By Blake Brittain

Aug 26 (Reuters) - A federal jury in Texas ruled for telecommunications giants AT&T T.N, Verizon VZ.N and T-Mobile TMUS.O on Wednesday against allegations that they infringed patents owned by Taiwanese electronics maker Asus 2357.TW related to 4G and 5G wireless communications technology.

• The jury said in its verdict that the three patents Asus accused the companies of infringing are invalid.

• Asus had argued that the companies' devices infringed its patents through their use with Ericsson ERICb.ST and Nokia NOKIA.HE network equipment. The jury on Wednesday also cleared Ericsson and Nokia from Asus' allegations that they broke obligations to license their standard essential patents on fair and reasonable terms.

• The jury also found that Asus had breached its own fair-licensing obligations to all five of the telecom companies.

• Asus had requested $436 million in damages, according to a press release from the telecom companies' law firm McKool Smith.

• Nokia said in a statement that it welcomed the verdict, respects intellectual property rights and will "vigorously defend our products against unfounded accusations."

• Spokespeople for the other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the verdict.

• Asus first sued the companies in 2023.

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)