In a significant move for the technology industry, Huawei and HP Inc. have announced the signing of a multiyear global patent cross-licensing agreement. The deal includes a license for HP Inc. to use certain Huawei WiFi patents, reflecting mutual recognition of each company's technological strengths. This agreement marks a milestone in intellectual property licensing, highlighting Huawei's persistent independent innovation in information and communications technology (ICT) and HP's position as a global leader in computers and peripheral equipment.
Alan Fan, Huawei's Chief Intellectual Property Officer, emphasized the importance of the agreement: "Huawei is pleased to reach this patent cross-licensing agreement with HP Inc. This agreement is a strong testament to Huawei's persistent independent innovation in cutting-edge fields in ICT. 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."
Steven Geiszler, who led the negotiations for Huawei, added: "This is another successful licensing of Huawei patents, particularly in the area of standardized Wi-Fi technologies—while obtaining valuable reciprocal patent rights from HP Inc. I appreciate the professionalism and courteousness shown by HP's negotiation team during this project."
The agreement comes at a time when Wi-Fi has become an indispensable part of daily life, connecting homes, schools, hospitals, offices, and public spaces. Each generation of the Wi-Fi standard is developed openly, drawing on technical contributions from companies across the industry, and is then made broadly available to implementers. Huawei has played a significant role in contributing to the development of Wi-Fi technologies over successive generations, from Wi-Fi 4 and 5, which are still widely used for less demanding applications, to the more advanced Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 standards.
Wi-Fi 6, with its high speed, large capacity, and lower energy consumption, enables multiple high-definition video streams, gaming, and AR/VR services alongside legacy broadband and IoT devices such as laptops, refrigerators, cameras, doorbells, thermostats, and lightbulbs—all with a single wireless router. Building on this, Wi-Fi 7 delivers even higher throughput, lower latency, and more reliable connectivity, ensuring an exceptionally smooth experience for 8K video, gaming, AR/VR, remote work, online video conferencing, and cloud computing.
The implications of this cross-licensing agreement extend beyond the two companies. By sharing its innovations through licensing, Huawei makes its technologies available publicly, ensuring that the benefits of innovation are widespread. This agreement underscores the importance of intellectual property in fostering technological advancement and collaboration, and it highlights how standardized technologies like Wi-Fi rely on contributions from diverse players to deliver reliable wireless connectivity that supports remote healthcare, digital education, and more energy-efficient homes and workplaces.
