America Finally Yields, Now Chooses Peace with China
Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies has officially agreed a multi-year multi-patent cross-licensing deal with renowned American computer manufacturer HP Inc. The strategic agreement covers the use of Wi-Fi technology patents, including the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard.
Under this scheme, HP gains access to Huawei’s patent portfolio, and vice versa. However, both technology giants declined to disclose the financial value of the deal.
Responding to rumours of a partnership, HP stressed that the agreement is purely a standard industry licensing scheme, not the start of a broader commercial relationship with Huawei.
“This is a standard-essential patent licence for Wi-Fi technology. This is commonplace and does not represent a strategic relationship, partnership, or broader business collaboration with Huawei,” an HP spokesperson said, as quoted by Reuters on Wednesday (26/8/2026).
For context, standard-essential patents are technological inventions that manufacturers must adopt so that electronic devices—such as laptops, printers, and mobile phones—can connect seamlessly to wireless networks in line with global standards.
This agreement serves as solid proof that Huawei still holds a very strong bargaining position in global wireless patent ownership, despite being hit by trade sanctions and device bans from the US government since 2019.
Finally at Peace, Legal Dispute in Europe Closed
This peace move also ends the legal dispute between the two parties. In August 2025, Huawei filed a lawsuit against HP at the Unified Patent Court Europe over alleged unauthorised infringement of Wi-Fi 6 patents.
The dispute had eased when HP joined the Sisvel Wi-Fi 6 patent pool in November 2025. However, the newly signed bilateral agreement goes further because it covers a much broader Wi-Fi patent portfolio, including the latest-generation Wi-Fi 7 technology.
Huawei has been actively commercialising its patent portfolio in recent years, including striking licensing deals with e-commerce giant Amazon. For Wi-Fi 6, Huawei set a licence fee of US$0.50 per consumer device.
By the end of 2025, Huawei recorded that more than 1.6 billion electronic devices outside smartphones had adopted its Wi-Fi technology.
Although US blocking sanctions still restrict Huawei’s access to advanced chip supplies and US software, the regulations have not closed the door for Huawei to earn revenue from intellectual property licensing with US companies such as HP, which currently controls 21.3% of the global PC market share according to Gartner data.