Huawei and Sharp forge licensing agreement
The pair reach global patent cross-licensing agreement | Relates to communication technologies including 5G.
Huawei and Sharp have signed a long-term global patent cross-licensing agreement.
The agreement covers cellular standard-essential patents (SEPs), including technologies such as 4G and 5G.
Alan Fan, the head of Huawei's IP department said: “This licence represents mutual recognition of IP of two standard contributors, which promotes standardisation collaboration.
“We’ve enjoyed working together with Japanese and global peers in developing standards, and will continue to do so,” he added.
These standards improve user satisfaction, enhance competition, and lower the expenses associated with devices and services, Fan explained.
Mototaka Taneya, executive managing officer, chief technical officer, and head of R&D at Sharp, emphasised the agreement was decided under “fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory conditions.”
“This agreement reflects that both parties respect the high value of each IP,” he added.
Huawei’s previous deals
Huawei has previously entered into agreements with nearly all significant patent holders in the telecommunications industry.
Most recently the Shenzhen company reached a global patent cross-licensing agreement with Xiaomi in September this year, following a lawsuit Huawei had filed against Xiaomi six months prior.
This agreement also covered multiple communications technologies, including 5G.
In August this year, Huawei and Ericsson extended their global cross-licensing agreement, including SEPs for 3G, 4G, and 5G cellular technologies.
During the same month, Huawei became one of the early licensors to participate in Avanci's 5G connected vehicle licensing program.
Huawei additionally entered into global patent cross-licensing agreements with OPPO and Samsung, in December 2022.
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