Huawei published a White Paper on Innovation and Intellectual Property 2020

On March 16, 2021, Huawei discloses a white paper on innovation and intellectual property at the Conference on innovation and IP Prospects 2021, which was held at Huawei Shenzhen headquarter.

This paper mainly focuses on Huawei’s history in innovation and intellectual property (IP) management prior to 2010 and brings the data and milestones related to their investment and R&D.

At the Conference, Huawei’s Chief Legal Officer Song Liuping stated we want to show the history of our innovation over the past 30 years and our long-term commitment to respecting, protecting, and contributing to IP. With this white paper, we want you to better understand how Huawei has become what it is today.

Huawei states in this paper that it has become one of the world’s largest patent holders through sustained investment in innovation. By the end of 2020, Huawei held over 100,000 active patents in more than 40,000 patent families worldwide.

Head of Huawei’s Intellectual Property Rights Department, Jason Ding said, innovation has been at the core of Huawei’s business since the company was founded. The 2020 white paper lists the number of patent applications Huawei filed, or our R&D and innovation activities, in the late 90s and early 2000s.”

“Huawei’s worldwide patent applications were on par with other industry leaders in the early 2000s, and Huawei’s success today is a result of its long-term investment in innovation and R&D,” says Ding

Huawei filed its first patent application in China back in 1995, and its first application in the US in 1999. In 2008, the World Intellectual Property Organization listed Huawei as No. 1 in terms of number of patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) for the first time. In 2019, Huawei ranked No. 2 in Europe and No. 10 in the US in terms of the number of patents granted. Huawei is also the largest patent holder in China.

Ding noted that Huawei estimates it will receive about 1.2 to 1.3 billion US dollars in revenue from patent licensing between 2019 and 2021. He also announced that for every multi-mode 5G smartphone, Huawei will provide a reasonable percentage royalty rate of the handset selling price, and a per unit royalty cap at US$2.5 (16 yuan).

“Huawei has been the largest technical contributor to 5G standards, and follows fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) principles when it comes to patent licensing,” 

“We hope that the royalty rate we announced today will increase 5G adoption by giving 5G implementers a more transparent cost structure that will inform their investment decisions moving forward,” added Ding

Francis Gurry, former Director General of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), also spoke at the event saying, “In releasing its license fee structure for 5G standard essential patents (SEPs), Huawei is promoting the widespread adoption and use of standards designed to ensure interoperability, reliability and transparent competition, while at the same time providing a fair return for investment in R&D.”

Huawei also launched a new patent mini-site on its website, with patents organized into different portfolios. This will be regularly updated to keep the industry informed of the company’s latest innovations.

Song stated that Huawei will regularly announce further innovation and IP activities so that the public can better understand Huawei’s innovation practices. This will be part of the company’s broader initiative to be more open and transparent with the public.