Huawei, Qualcomm Enter Multi-Year Patent License Deal for 5G, AI

Huawei and Qualcomm on October 5, 2026 announced a multi-year, broad patent license agreement that combines cross licenses to the companies’ patent portfolios across 5G, compute, AI, and networking with Qualcomm’s purchase of certain Huawei U.S. patents.

Huawei published the announcement from Shenzhen, China, and Qualcomm carried the same joint text in a press note datelined Shenzhen and San Diego. Under the agreement’s first component, the companies grant cross licenses to their patent portfolios across a range of technology fields; under the second, Qualcomm purchases certain Huawei U.S. patents in the areas of compute, AI, networking, and other technologies. A FAQ published with Huawei’s announcement restates the two components.

The companies said the agreement reflects a shared commitment to intellectual property rights and to licensing practices consistent with fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) principles.

Executive Statements

Alan Fan, Huawei’s Chief Intellectual Property Officer, said Huawei’s decades of sustained investment in fundamental research and development have driven innovation and progress in mobile communications and other technology fields. He said the company’s broad contributions to the 4G and 5G standards, such as near-physical-limit signal transmission technology using polar codes, have established Huawei’s leadership in the mobile communications industry and continuously transformed the way people communicate and live. “This agreement not only demonstrates the value of Huawei’s innovations, but also recognizes Qualcomm’s foundational contributions to modern communication technologies,” Fan said.

John Han, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Qualcomm Technology Licensing, said Qualcomm has invested in foundational wireless technologies that have enabled successive generations of mobile innovation and earned broad recognition across the global wireless industry. He said the agreement reaffirms industry recognition of Qualcomm’s 5G technology leadership and the success of its 5G standard-essential patent (SEP) licensing program, and that it likewise reflects Qualcomm’s recognition of Huawei’s continued innovation and intellectual property in 5G and other technology fields.

The Companies’ 2020 Settlement and Prior License

In July 2020, Qualcomm entered into a settlement agreement and a new long-term, global patent license agreement with Huawei, including a cross license granting back rights to certain of Huawei’s patents and covering sales beginning January 1, 2020, according to a Qualcomm earnings release filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The July 29, 2020 release described the agreements as resolving the companies’ dispute.

That release said Qualcomm’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 guidance included estimated revenues of approximately $1.8 billion related to amounts due from Huawei under the settlement agreement, incremental to amounts previously paid under two interim agreements, together with estimated amounts due for the March 2020 and June 2020 quarters under the new global patent license agreement. It noted that Qualcomm’s fiscal third-quarter 2019 results had included $150 million of revenues in its QTL (Qualcomm Technology Licensing) segment resulting from an interim agreement with Huawei, and that the third-quarter fiscal 2020 results did not include revenues from the Huawei settlement or the global patent license agreements.

The release said the company’s guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 also included estimated QTL revenues for royalties due on sales made by Huawei in the September 2020 quarter. Steve Mollenkopf, Qualcomm’s chief executive at the time, said the quarter’s results and the new long-term patent license agreement with Huawei positioned the company well for the balance of 2020 and beyond.

Huawei’s Patent Cross-License With HP

On August 26, 2026, Huawei and HP Inc. announced the signing of a multi-year global patent cross-licensing agreement, including a license to HP Inc. for certain Huawei WiFi patents. Huawei’s announcement said the agreement recognized Huawei’s innovation capabilities and core technological strength as well as HP’s position as a global leader in computers and peripheral equipment. In that announcement, Fan said the HP agreement testified to Huawei’s independent innovation in information and communications technology and that, through patent licensing, Huawei shares its innovation with the industry, particularly in the area of standardized technologies.

Huawei and Qualcomm said the new transaction will close following receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals.