China’s Huawei Technologies has signed a multi-year cross-licensing agreement with U.S. computer maker HP covering patents used in Wi-Fi technology, including the newer Wi-Fi 7 standard.
The agreement allows both companies to use each other’s patented technology, although neither Huawei nor HP disclosed financial details or the specific patents being licensed by Huawei.
HP said the deal should not be interpreted as a broader partnership between the two companies.
The U.S. computer maker described it as a standard patent licence covering technology widely used across the industry.
“This is a standard-essential patent licence covering Wi-Fi technology,” an HP spokesperson said, adding that the agreement does not represent a wider strategic, commercial or collaborative relationship with Huawei.
Standard-essential patents cover technologies that companies need to use to comply with widely adopted technical standards such as Wi-Fi.
Licensing agreements involving such patents are common across the technology industry, particularly among manufacturers of computers, smartphones, printers and other connected devices.
The agreement is significant because it highlights Huawei’s continuing role as a major holder of patents used in global wireless technologies despite years of U.S. restrictions on the Chinese company.
The deal also follows a patent dispute between Huawei and HP in Europe. Huawei sued HP at the Unified Patent Court in August 2025, accusing the U.S. company of using one of its Wi-Fi 6 patents without authorisation.
HP later joined the Sisvel Wi-Fi 6 patent pool in November 2025, giving it access to a broader collection of patents considered essential to Wi-Fi 6 products and helping bring an end to legal action involving Huawei and Philips.
Huawei said its new agreement with HP covers a broader portfolio of Wi-Fi patents, including technologies associated with Wi-Fi 7.
The Chinese company has increasingly expanded its patent licensing business in recent years and has reached agreements with several major technology companies. Huawei has said it is among the leading holders of patents required to implement Wi-Fi 6 technology.
The company charges 50 cents for each consumer device using its Wi-Fi 6 technology and said more than 1.6 billion consumer electronic devices, excluding mobile phones, had used Huawei’s Wi-Fi-related inventions by the end of 2025.
Huawei has faced U.S. trade restrictions since 2019, when Washington placed the company on a trade blacklist that generally requires suppliers to obtain government approval before providing certain U.S.-origin technology.
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Those restrictions have limited Huawei’s access to advanced semiconductors and key software, but they do not automatically prevent the company from entering patent licensing agreements with U.S. businesses.
HP, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, was the world’s second-largest PC maker by market share, behind Lenovo, according to Gartner data, with a 21.3% share.
The latest agreement gives both companies continued access to technology covered by their respective patent portfolios while underscoring the importance of intellectual property licensing in the global technology industry.
About the Author
Cecilia Attah is a tech analyst with a degree from Benue State University. She covers tech news and startups at TechRegard with a focus on how technology is transforming Africa and shaping the global landscape.
