Huawei licenses Wi-Fi patents to HP, highlighting shift in global IP licensing flows: Chinese expert
Huawei Photo: VCGChinese tech giant Huawei and US‑based computer-maker HP announced the signing of a multiyear global patent cross-licensing agreement, including a license to HP for certain Huawei Wi-Fi patents, the Global Times learned from Huawei on Wednesday.The deal marks another notable case where a Chinese technology firm licenses intellectual property (IP) to a major Western corporation, reflecting a shifting dynamic in global patent flows, a Chinese expert said. The expert noted that this momentum is irreversible and more licensing deals should be expected."This agreement is a strong testament to Huawei's persistent independent innovation in cutting-edge fields in information and communications technology. Through patent licensing, Huawei shares its innovation with the industry, particularly in the area of standardized technologies, which brings leading technological experiences to consumers worldwide," Huawei's Chief Intellectual Property Officer Alan Fan said in a statement sent to the Global Times.Under the agreement, HP will pay patent royalties to Huawei, according to Yicai, a financial news outlet under the Shanghai Media Group. To date, Huawei has signed more than 260 patent-licensing deals with major information and communications technology manufacturers in the US, Europe, Japan, and South Korea, with 34 new agreements added in 2025.This situation shows that Chinese enterprises, such as Huawei, have amassed a large portfolio of high-value, valid patents in next-generation information and communications technology over the past 10 to 20 years, Xiang Ligang, a veteran telecom observer, told the Global Times on Wednesday.In the past, as latecomers to the market, Chinese companies had to secure licenses for earlier-generation patents held by Western firms. Over the past 15 years, however, communications have emerged as one of the world's most dynamic innovation arenas, in which Chinese players have achieved significant technological catch-up, Xiang said.Many functions of smartphones and smart terminals rely on underlying communications technologies that cannot bypass Chinese-held patents, with Huawei serving as the most prominent example. The HP-Huawei patent partnership represents yet another concrete case of this broader trend, he noted. More Chinese innovators are exporting their patented technologies to overseas counterparts.China's international competitiveness in IP has strengthened notably. In the first five months of 2026, China's exports of IP royalties hit 45.5 billion yuan (($6.77 billion), up 64.9 percent year‑on‑year. This serves as clear evidence that Chinese enterprises are actively leveraging IP to build new competitive advantages on the global stage, officials of the China National Intellectual Property Administration told a press conference on July 29.In the first half of 2026, China granted 453,000 invention patents. As of the end of June, valid invention patents in next‑generation information‑technology sectors, including artificial intelligence (AI), internet, cloud computing and big data, accounted for 16.5 percent of the total. The fast‑growing patent portfolio in these cutting‑edge segments helps fuel new drivers of economic growth, officials said.China ranks among the world's top patent filers in cutting-edge fields, including AI, amid continuous technological progress. More outbound patent-licensing deals by Chinese companies are expected, and this momentum is irreversible, Xiang said.
