Chinese tech giant Huawei, which is locked out of much of the smartphone market, has decided to license some of its technology to one of its direct competitors.
Over the weekend, Huawei announced the signing of a global patent cross-licensing agreement with Oppo, the Chinese smartphone maker that is one of the largest in the world. This includes patents required for cellular standards that Huawei may need to submit for licensing under FRAND principles, but which Huawei deems necessary to announce.
"Joining companies to recognize the value of intellectual property is an important step in creating a virtuous cycle of high-level innovation and research: invest, get a return on investment, and then invest again," said Alan Fan, CEO of Huawei. intellectual property. Department. "This will allow our industry to continue to innovate and provide consumers with more competitive products and services."
"We are very pleased to sign a patent cross-licensing agreement with Huawei," said Adler Feng, Director of Intellectual Property at Oppo. “This clearly demonstrates that both companies recognize and value each other's intellectual property. This is a mutually beneficial agreement. As always, we will strive to create a healthy and sustainable intellectual property ecosystem where intellectual property licenses can be settled through peaceful negotiations and the value of every company's patents is highly valued."
It is interesting how strongly both representatives stressed the importance of respecting the value of intellectual property, given allegations that sections of Chinese industry, particularly those from the US, have not always been so respectful in the past. The brief announcement doesn't reveal how Oppo will benefit, but it does hint at a new revenue stream for Huawei and possibly closer collaboration between Chinese smartphone makers in general.
Around the same time, Ericsson, a mobile technology innovator, also announced the signing of a multi-year international patent license agreement with US gadget giant Apple. It was less of a new revenue stream as a result of negotiations with the attorneys Apple uses in many of its deals.
Earlier this year, Ericsson sued Apple for a seven-year extension to its patent agreement. It seems Apple can't make peace with its partners as they also entered a legal battle with Qualcomm over technology royalties. It ended in disgrace for Apple, but Ericsson gave no clues as to who might emerge from this latest brawl.
"We are pleased to resolve our dispute with Apple through this agreement, which is strategic to our 5G licensing program," said Christina Peterson, Ericsson's chief intellectual property officer. "This will allow both companies to remain focused on bringing the best technologies to the global market."
The only clue we're offered is Ericsson's careful guidance on IPR license revenue, which "continues to be impacted by a number of factors, including expiring patent license deals, the transition from 4G to 5G, and potential currency effects." "and the geopolitical implications that will affect the future." Ericsson estimates that revenue from intellectual property licenses will be SEK 5.05/06.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022.
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