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

By Che Pan and Eduardo Baptista Wed, August 26, 2026 at 3:41 AM UTC

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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

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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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