China's Huawei, US PC maker HP sign multi-year Wi-Fi patent deal

By Che Pan and Eduardo Baptista

BEIJING, Aug ‌26 (Reuters) - China's Huawei Technologies ​said on ​Wednesday it had reached a multi-year cross-licence agreement with HP Inc, covering patents used in Wi-Fi technology, including the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard.

The deal gives HP access to Huawei patents and ‌gives Huawei access to HP patents, though neither company disclosed financial terms. Huawei did ⁠not detail the scope of the patents it would receive from HP.

HP said the agreement was a routine licence for technology used ‌broadly across the industry, rather than the ‌start of a wider commercial relationship with the Chinese technology company.

"This is a standard-essential patent licence covering Wi-Fi technology," an HP spokesperson said. "It is not new, and does not represent a broader strategic or ​commercial relationship, partnership, or collaboration with Huawei."

Standard-essential patents cover inventions that companies may need to use in order to make products compatible with an industry standard, such as Wi-Fi. Such licences are common for makers ⁠of computers, printers, phones and other devices that connect to wireless networks.

The agreement shows Huawei remains an important holder of patents used in global wireless ​standards, despite U.S. restrictions requiring U.S. carriers to remove their equipment from U.S. networks.

HUAWEI-HP DEAL FOLLOWS LEGAL DISPUTE

Huawei has expanded its patent portfolio and licensing business in recent ​years, reaching settlements with companies including Amazon. It has said ‌it is among the leading holders of patents needed to implement Wi-Fi 6, the prior generation of the wireless standard.

Huawei has set a fee of 50 cents for each ⁠consumer device using its Wi-Fi 6 technology. More than 1.6 billion consumer electronic devices, excluding mobile phones, had used Huawei's Wi-Fi-related inventions by the end of 2025, the company said.

Wednesday's agreement follows a lawsuit Huawei filed against HP at Europe's Unified ⁠Patent Court in August 2025, accusing the U.S. company of using a Wi-Fi 6 patent without permission, according to intellectual-property publication ​IAM.

HP joined the Sisvel Wi-Fi 6 patent pool in November 2025, ending legal actions against it by Huawei and Philips. The pool gives companies access through a single agreement to about 2,000 patents considered necessary for Wi-Fi 6 products.

Huawei said the ‌new direct deal covers a broader set of its Wi-Fi patents, including Wi-Fi 7.

Huawei has faced U.S. trade restrictions since 2019, when Washington added the company to a ‌trade blacklist that generally requires suppliers to obtain government approval before providing certain U.S.-origin technology.

The restrictions have limited Huawei's ability ⁠to buy advanced semiconductors and crucial software, but ‌do not automatically bar patent-licensing agreements.

HP, ​based in Palo Alto, California, was the world's second-largest PC maker with a 21.3% market share, behind Lenovo, according to Gartner data.

(Reporting by Che Pan and Eduardo Baptista; Editing by ‌Lincoln Feast.)

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