Corning Optical Communications LLC

Corning Optical Communications LLC is the optical-communications subsidiary of Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW). It was founded in 1977 as Corning Cable Systems and renamed Corning Optical Communications in December 2013; its headquarters is at 4200 Corning Place, Charlotte, NC, with additional legacy locations in Hickory, NC. It is privately held within the public parent — Corning Inc. reported 2024 GAAP sales of $13.1 billion ($14.47 billion core) and roughly 56,000 employees, with Optical Communications representing about 32% of segment net sales ($4.66 billion in 2024).

Products/operations: the unit manufactures optical fiber and cable and the hardware around it — connectors, closures, splitters, terminals, cabinets, frames, cable assemblies, network interface devices, and splice/test equipment — plus related network design, installation, and maintenance services. Product families include ClearCurve, Evolant, FlexNAP, and LANscape, sold to telecom, CATV, data center, and enterprise customers. Its sister entity Corning Optical Communications RF LLC (formerly Corning Gilbert) supplies coaxial/RF connectivity.

Litigation posture: the structured data records a single tracked matter, with the company on the plaintiff (petitioner) side of a PTAB proceeding — the profile of an operating company, not an NPE. No NPE-style assertion campaign appears here. In the broader dispute underlying that PTAB case, however, Corning was the accused infringer: PPC Broadband sued Corning entities in district court over coaxial-connector patents, and the Federal Circuit affirmed an approximately $61 million willful-infringement judgment for PPC.

Notable case: Corning Optical Communications RF, LLC v. PPC Broadband, Inc. (IPR2014-00440, PTAB; tracked as filed 2016-08-09). Corning petitioned for review of three PPC connector patents, but the Board granted PPC's motion to dismiss after finding Corning failed to name its parent, Corning Incorporated, and sister company, Corning Optical Communications LLC, as real parties in interest. The 2015 decision was designated precedential by the USPTO Director on October 28, 2025, restoring strict pre-institution RPI disclosure requirements.