Defendant
4 cases as defendant.
ZTE (USA) Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of ZTE Corporation, a partially state-owned Chinese technology company specializing in telecommunications. ZTE Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, China, with shares publicly traded on the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges. As of December 2025, its parent company, ZTE Corporation, reported approximately 65,095 employees globally and generated an estimated $19.1 billion in revenue for 2026, with a market capitalization of around CNY 170.5 billion. ZTE (USA) Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Richardson, Texas, employing between 501 and 1,000 professionals and reporting over $1 billion in revenue.
ZTE Corporation is a global provider of telecommunications equipment and information and communication technology (ICT) solutions. Its offerings include wireless and wireline access, optical transmission, data telecommunications gear, telecommunications software, and core networks. ZTE (USA) Inc. focuses on consumer devices, providing a diversified portfolio of mobile devices such as smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, mobile hotspots, and connected car devices to the U.S. market.
In terms of patent litigation, ZTE (USA) Inc. operates as a defending entity, consistent with an operating company. The company has been involved in one tracked case, appearing solely as a defendant. This single case, Mesa Digital LLC v. ZTE (USA) Inc., was filed in the California Central District Court on November 13, 2023.
ZTE Corporation has faced external scrutiny, including concerns from the United States government regarding its ties to the Chinese government and national security implications. In 2017 and 2018, the company faced penalties and temporary bans from the U.S. for violating sanctions, which were later lifted after management changes and new compliance agreements.
Maxell asserted U.S. Patent 7,995,897 against ZTE entity defendants. The '897 patent appears in the AO-120 and consolidated P.R. 4-3 claim-construction record; final disposition was not verified.
Maxell sued ZTE Corp. and ZTE USA Inc. in the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division. Google Patents/Unified Patents linked the case to US 7,324,487, but the narrative could not retrieve the full asserted-patent list; the case was terminated on March 12, 2019.
Maxell, Ltd. sued ZTE Corporation and ZTE USA Inc. in the Eastern District of Texas, asserting U.S. 6,928,292. The case was coordinated with the Huawei case and closed in 2018.
Maxell asserted eight patents, including U.S. Patent No. 8,098,695, against ZTE; the '695 patent was asserted against ZTE USA only. A jury found ZTE willfully infringed seven patents, including the '695 patent, and awarded $43.3 million; the case was terminated on March 11, 2019, under a confidential settlement.