Chinese tech giant Huawei had invested heavily in the development of communications technology for years until U.S. sanctions limited its capabilities in global markets. What’s even more interesting is that the US company Hewlett-Packard has now authorized Huawei’s multiple Wi-Fi technologies to be used in its personal computers and peripherals.
Image source: Unsplash, Jayasahan Hansana
It is also symbolic that the licensing agreement was signed on the eve of an expected meeting between Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump. As noted, by the end of last year Nikkei Asian ReviewTo date, more than 1.6 billion consumer devices (excluding smartphones) worldwide use Huawei’s proprietary Wi-Fi solutions. This number also includes products from well-known brands outside China, including HP, Microsoft, Sony, Asus, Acer and Amazon.
The new agreement between Huawei and HP is a multi-year agreement that provides for patent cross-licensing, including patents related to the current Wi-Fi 7 standard. HP will have the right to use some of Huawei’s patents, and Huawei will also obtain some of HP’s patents. The parties did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction or the specific composition of the patent portfolio transferred from HP to Huawei. Representatives of the U.S. company emphasized that such an agreement is common practice for licensing technology required by standards and does not mean the beginning of a broader commercial or strategic cooperation with Huawei.
HP and Huawei have had patent disputes before. In 2025, the Chinese company accused HP of using Wi-Fi 6 patented technology without proper licenses. In November last year, HP joined the Sisvel Wi-Fi 6 patent pool, and Huawei, Philips and Wilus subsequently settled related claims against the US company. Through its participation in the patent pool, HP has access to approximately 2,000 patents in 245 patent families from various rights holders that are considered critical to the implementation of the Wi-Fi 6 standard.
The current direct agreement with Huawei is broader in nature and also covers Wi-Fi 7. Huawei is one of the largest owners of standard essential patents in this field and is actively monetizing its accumulated intellectual property rights. In June, the company set royalties for use of Wi-Fi 7 technology in consumer devices at $0.50 per device. The same rates apply to Wi-Fi 6. However, this does not mean that HP will pay Huawei the same: the financial terms of the agreement between the two companies were not disclosed.
By the end of 2024, Huawei had earned approximately US$630 million in revenue through its own patent licensing. The intellectual property rights allow the company to benefit from years of R&D investments amid U.S. sanctions, even to manufacturers in countries where Huawei has limited ability to sell its own equipment. Huawei has signed licensing agreements with Amazon, Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung Electronics, Oppo, Xiaomi and Sharp, and its developments are used by several European carmakers, including Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW and Porsche. Although the United States has imposed restrictions since 2019 that have made it difficult for Huawei to obtain advanced semiconductor technology and some software, this does not prevent the company from licensing its developments to foreign manufacturers.
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