Shenzhen: Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies and US computer maker HP Inc. have signed a multi-year global patent cross-licensing agreement, covering Wi-Fi technologies including patents associated with the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard, the companies announced on Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
The agreement gives both companies access to parts of each other’s patent portfolios while providing HP with licences to certain Huawei Wi-Fi technologies. Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.
Huawei and HP Agree to Global Patent Cross-Licensing
Huawei officially announced the agreement from Shenzhen on Wednesday, describing it as a multiyear global patent cross-licensing deal.
The arrangement includes a licence for HP to use certain Huawei Wi-Fi patents in products such as computers and other connected devices.
Reuters reported that the agreement includes intellectual property connected to Wi-Fi 7, the newest major generation of Wi-Fi technology.
Neither company disclosed the financial value of the agreement or detailed the complete range of HP patents being licensed to Huawei.
What Does a Cross-Licensing Agreement Mean?
A patent cross-licensing agreement allows two companies to grant each other permission to use specified patented technologies.
This can reduce the risk of intellectual-property disputes while allowing manufacturers to incorporate technologies required by industry standards into their products.
For companies such as Huawei and HP, Wi-Fi patents are particularly important because wireless connectivity is embedded in products ranging from:
- Laptops and desktop computers
- Printers
- Routers
- Smartphones
- Smart-home devices
- Internet of Things products
- Enterprise networking equipment
HP told Reuters that such licensing arrangements are a normal industry practice for technologies essential to computers, printers and other connected products.
Deal Includes Next-Generation Wi-Fi 7
The inclusion of Wi-Fi 7 technology makes the agreement especially significant.
Wi-Fi 7, technically based on the IEEE 802.11be standard, is designed to offer higher data throughput, lower latency and improved reliability compared with previous Wi-Fi generations.
Huawei says Wi-Fi 7 technologies can support demanding applications including 8K video streaming, cloud computing, gaming, augmented and virtual reality, video conferencing and remote working.
As increasing numbers of laptops, smartphones and networking products adopt Wi-Fi 7, access to patents considered essential to implementing the standard becomes commercially important for hardware manufacturers.
Huawei Holds Major Wi-Fi Patent Portfolio
Huawei has developed a substantial portfolio of intellectual-property rights covering telecommunications and wireless technologies.
The company says it is one of the leading contributors to the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi standards family and holds one of the largest portfolios of declared standard-essential patents related to Wi-Fi 7.
Huawei announced in June that its published royalty rate for consumer-grade Wi-Fi 7 devices would be $0.50 per unit, the same listed rate as for its consumer-grade Wi-Fi 6 licensing programme.
The company says implementers can obtain licences through bilateral agreements or patent pools under FRAND — Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory — terms.
Deal Follows Earlier Huawei-HP Patent Dispute
Wednesday’s agreement also follows an earlier intellectual-property dispute between the two technology companies.
Reuters reported that Huawei launched legal action against HP in August 2025, alleging unauthorised use of one of its Wi-Fi 6 patents.
That dispute was subsequently settled after HP joined the Sisvel Wi-Fi 6 patent pool, which provides manufacturers with access to patents contributed by multiple technology companies.
The latest cross-licensing agreement establishes a broader framework between Huawei and HP for managing their respective patent rights.
HP Says Deal Is Not a Broader Strategic Partnership
Although the agreement involves two of the world’s major technology companies, HP cautioned against interpreting it as the start of a wider commercial alliance.
According to Reuters, HP described the arrangement as a routine intellectual-property licensing agreement rather than evidence of a broader strategic partnership between the two companies.
This distinction is important because Huawei has faced significant US trade restrictions since 2019, limiting its access to certain American technologies, advanced semiconductors and software.
Patent licensing, however, remains an important global business for Huawei despite those restrictions.
Huawei Emphasises Innovation and Licensing
Huawei Chief Intellectual Property Officer Alan Fan said the agreement demonstrated the company’s continued investment in research and development and its approach of sharing patented innovations with other companies through licensing.
Huawei maintains more than 110,000 active patents, according to its intellectual-property information, covering fields including 5G, Wi-Fi, video technologies and connected devices.
Patent licensing has become an increasingly important way for technology companies to monetise years of research even when they may not directly manufacture every category of product that uses their inventions.
Why the Agreement Matters
For HP, securing long-term access to Huawei’s Wi-Fi intellectual property can provide greater certainty as more of its laptops, printers and connected hardware transition towards newer wireless standards.
For Huawei, the agreement strengthens its position as a global technology licensor and provides another example of a major international manufacturer recognising the commercial value of its Wi-Fi patent portfolio.
The deal is also significant for the broader technology sector because modern wireless standards often incorporate patented inventions owned by dozens or even hundreds of companies.
Cross-licensing arrangements and patent pools help manufacturers gain legal access to those technologies while reducing the likelihood of lengthy litigation.
Wi-Fi 7 Adoption Expected to Expand
Wi-Fi 7 is gradually becoming standard in premium smartphones, computers and networking devices and is expected to spread into a much larger range of consumer and enterprise products.
Its improvements in speed, latency, capacity and reliability make the technology particularly relevant as demand increases for artificial intelligence applications, cloud services, high-resolution streaming and connected devices.
The Huawei-HP agreement therefore comes as the technology industry begins a wider transition from Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E towards Wi-Fi 7.
While neither company has disclosed the financial terms, the multi-year agreement gives both sides a framework for accessing patented technologies as that transition accelerates.
Source – Reuters / Huawei Technologies
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