Halliburton Sues NOV to Stifle Bid for More Patent Royalties

Halliburton Co. alleges in a new lawsuit that NOV Inc. is claiming the energy giant’s royalty obligations under a license to 12 patents for “leached cutters” used in drill bits extend to nearly a decade after the “core patents” expired.

The company’s Halliburton Energy Services Inc. unit paid royalties to NOV, a Houston-based provider of drilling equipment, and its Grant Prideco Inc. and ReedHycalog units for more than 10 years under a 2008 licensing deal, according to a complaint filed May 15 in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The 12 “core patents,” Halliburton’s complaint says,, ...