Huawei was once a real threat to Samsung’s dominance in the global smartphone market. However, its smartphones were banned by the US a few years ago. Later, the US also imposed a trade ban on the company, which means it can’t use key technologies developed by US-based companies. The company has now licensed its key mobile and wireless technologies with other brands, including Samsung, to stay afloat.
Last week, Huawei and OPPO announced they have cross-licensed key patents, including 5G, Wi-Fi, and audio-video codecs. Huawei also announced that it has licensed key 5G technologies to Samsung Electronics. While the company didn’t go into specifics, the patents could be related to 5G modems inside Samsung’s mobile devices or 5G patents connected to Samsung Networks’ telecom infrastructure. Samsung didn’t respond to Nikkei when it reached out to get the South Korean firm’s response on this deal.
OPPO and Samsung are among 20 firms that have licensed Huawei’s patents and technologies over the past few years. Reports claim that Huawei’s revenue from patent licensing was between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion from 2019 to 2021. Samsung is the biggest brand in terms of smartphone sales and revenue among Huawei’s partners.
Huawei said it is committed to long-term investments in research and development and improving its IP (Intellectual Property) portfolio. It was the top-ranked company in getting patents granted at the China National Intellectual Property Administration and the European Patent Office in 2021. In the US, it was ranked fifth in getting patent wins. Nearly 55% of its employees are in the research and development section.
