Huawei and HP have signed a multi-year global patent cross-licensing agreement covering Wi-Fi technology, including Wi-Fi 7, on 26 August, highlighting how Huawei can continue licensing intellectual property despite US restrictions that have curtailed its access to American technology.

The agreement gives HP access to certain Huawei patents while providing Huawei with reciprocal rights to HP intellectual property, although the companies did not disclose financial terms. Huawei did not specify the patents it will receive from HP.

The deal comes despite the US placing Huawei on its Entity List in 2019, requiring companies to obtain government approval before supplying it with US-origin goods, software and technology. Subsequent export controls have significantly restricted Huawei's access to advanced semiconductors and other critical technologies, while US restrictions have required carriers to remove Huawei equipment from American networks.

Reuters reported that HP described the new agreement as a routine licence for standard-essential Wi-Fi technology used broadly across connected products. An HP spokesperson said: “It is not new, and does not represent a broader strategic or commercial relationship, partnership, or collaboration with Huawei.”

Standard-essential patents cover technologies needed to make products compatible with established industry standards, making licensing arrangements common among manufacturers of computers, phones, printers and other connected devices. The US restrictions on Huawei do not automatically prohibit patent licensing, allowing the HP agreement to proceed despite the wider trade controls.

The agreement follows a patent dispute between the companies in Europe last year. Huawei filed a lawsuit against HP at Europe's Unified Patent Court in August 2025, alleging the US company had used a Wi-Fi 6 patent without permission, before HP joined the Sisvel Wi-Fi 6 patent pool in November.

That pool provides access to about 2,000 patents considered necessary for Wi-Fi 6 products and ended legal actions against HP by Huawei and Philips, according to Reuters. Huawei said the new direct agreement covers a broader set of its Wi-Fi patents, including Wi-Fi 7.

Huawei has expanded its patent licensing business as restrictions have limited its ability to source advanced technology from US suppliers. The company said more than 1.6 billion consumer electronic devices, excluding mobile phones, had used its Wi-Fi-related inventions by the end of 2025, while it has set a fee of 50 cents for each consumer device using its Wi-Fi 6 technology.

Alan Fan, Huawei's chief intellectual property officer, said the agreement was “a strong testament to Huawei's persistent independent innovation” and said licensing enables the company to share its technology with the wider industry.

HP held a 21.3 per cent share of the global PC market, making it the world's second-largest PC maker behind Lenovo, according to Gartner data.

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