Huawei and Ericsson signed long-term patent license agreement for 3G, 4G, and 5G technologies

Today, Huawei and Ericsson signed a long-term global patent cross-licensing agreement, which covers cellular technologies including 3G, 4G, and 5G. The agreement allows each party to use these technologies in network and consumer devices. Also, both can commit these technologies under a wide range of standards – 3GPP, ITU, IEEE, and IETF.

Huawei and Ericsson are known as the largest telecom equipment makers and industry rivals. However, such agreements are part of the business strategy. That’s how Huawei also signed multi-year agreements with Samsung and Nokia as well.

“We are delighted to reach a long-term global cross-licensing agreement with Ericsson,” said Alan Fan, Head of Huawei’s Intellectual Property Department. “As major contributors of standard essential patents (SEPs) for mobile communication, the companies recognize the value of each other’s intellectual property, and this agreement creates a stronger patent environment. It demonstrates the commitment both parties have forged that intellectual property should be properly respected and protected.”

“We are pleased to announce our renewal of our global cross-licensing agreement with Huawei,” said Christina Petersson, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Ericsson. “Both companies are major contributors to mobile communication standards and recognize the value of each other’s intellectual property. This 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. A balanced approach to licensing ensures that the interests of both patent holders and implementers are served fairly, driving healthy, sustainable industry development for the benefit of consumers and enterprises everywhere.”

Huawei is one of the top contributors to mainstream ICT standards including cellular, Wi-Fi, and multimedia codecs. Last year, Huawei made achieved first place in the European Patent Office’s applicant ranking for holding the most 4505 applications.

“Our commitment to sharing leading technological innovations will drive healthy, sustainable industry development and provide consumers with more robust products and services,” added Fan.

(source – Huawei)