Huawei licenses 5G patents to rival as US sanctions bite
Image of a woman holding a cell phone in front of the Huawei logo displayed on a computer screen. Canada said Thursday it plans to ban the use of China’s Huawei Technologies and ZTE 5G gear to protect national security, joining the rest of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network.
Artur Vidak | NurPhoto | Getty Images
Chinese tech giant Huawei said on Friday it will license its 5G technology to rival handset maker Oppo as it seeks to open up a new revenue stream after US sanctions crush its smartphone business.
Huawei and Oppo, the world’s fourth-largest smartphone maker, signed a “global patent cross-licensing agreement covering cellular standard essential patents, including 5G.”
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Huawei has a vast portfolio of over 100,000 patents globally. It is also one of the top patent holders in 5G technology, the next generation of ultra-fast mobile internet seen as key to underpinning future industries such as artificial intelligence and autonomous cars.
When a new generation of cellular technology is being developed, there is a need to create so-called global standards. These are the protocols, technical specifications and designs that allow interoperability Between 5G networks globally and allows smartphones to communicate with these networks.
Industry bodies have been tasked with making these and companies like Huawei will contribute to their manufacture. These companies create technologies that they patent. Patents that are critical to the standards for 4G or 5G will be considered “standard essential patents” or SEPs.
Compared to some of its rivals such as Nokia and Ericsson, Huawei has historically not been aggressive in monetizing these patents.
However, in 2019, the US number of measures Including an export blacklist to keep Huawei out of it critical semiconductor It is necessary for your smartphone and some other products. This Crushed the company’s smartphone business Which was number one in the world at that time.
Last year, the Chinese tech giant indicated that it would start Start selling your technology to other companies through patents,
The company previously said it expected to generate $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion in revenue from the licensing of its intellectual property between 2019 and 2021. Huawei said it met its intellectual property revenue expectations for 2021, but did not provide any figures.
5G has become a controversial part of a massive technology battle between the US and China. Both countries see it as an important technology. But the US has expressed concern that Huawei represents a national security threat and has pressured other countries to ban the Chinese firm from their 5G infrastructure. Huawei has refused repeatedly that it represents a national security threat.
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