Ericsson predicts $1bn from licensing, renews Huawei deal
Telecom pair announce a renewed ‘multi-year’ patent licensing agreement, covering 3G, 4G and 5G wireless technologies | Both firms said they are “committed” to sharing technological innovations | Ericsson invests more than $4 billion per year in R&D.
Telecom giants Ericsson and Huawei have renewed their global cross-licensing agreement, covering standard essential patent (SEPs) for 3G, 4G, and 5G cellular technologies.
The deal, announced by both companies today, August 25, covers each parties’ respective sales of network infrastructure and consumer devices, granting global access to each other's patented, standardised technologies.
Christina Petersson, chief intellectual property officer at Ericsson, said that the agreement “demonstrates the commitment of both parties that intellectual property should be respected and rewarded, and that leading technological innovations should be shared across the industry”.
Alan Fan, head of Huawei's Intellectual Property Department, added that it “creates a stronger patent environment”.
“Our commitment to sharing leading technological innovations will drive healthy, sustainable industry development and provide consumers with more robust products and services.”
He also said that the agreement “is the result of intensive discussions that ensured the interests of both patent holders and implementers are served fairly."
While the length and details of the agreement were not disclosed, nor royalty payments, the pair said that it was a ‘multi-year’ deal. Ericsson added in its statement that it is “confident of growing its IPR revenues with further agreements and by expanding into additional licensing areas long term.”
The deal covers 3GPP ( 3rd Generation Partnership Project), ITU ( International Telecommunications Union), IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), and IETF ( Internet Engineering Task Force) standards for 3G, 4G, and 5G cellular technologies.
Ericsson estimates $1bn from licensing
Ericsson also announced its estimated full-year 2023 revenues from its current portfolio of IPR licensing contracts—including the renewed agreement with Huawei—to be 1 billion Swedish Krona (almost $1 billion).
The Sweden-headquartered company, which has a patent portfolio of more than 60,000 granted patents, said that it invests more than $4 billion per year in R&D.
Last year, China-based Huawei ranked as the applicant with the highest number of patent applications filed at the European Patent Office, with 4,505 applications.
Both companies are licensors on Avanci’s vehicle licensing programmes, including its new 5G programme announced last week.
In July, Huawei publicly announced its royalty rates for its handsets, Wi-Fi, and Internet of Things (IoT) patent licence programmes.
Meanwhile, debate continues over how best to manage SEPs based on FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) principles.
In April this year, the European Commission’s much-anticipated proposed regulations on SEPs drew mixed reactions from the international patent community, with strong criticism emanating from both SEP holders and implementers.
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