Huawei proves leadership in patent business despite US-China tensions

Chinese tech giant Huawei is regaining its momentum on providing patent licensing to companies worldwide despite the US-China feud.

File photo: Huawei store in China

Huawei remains the patent leader

The global technology leader reported that it is set to receive over USD 1 billion in patent licensing fees from global companies for the three years through 2021.

Jason Ding, head of its intellectual property rights department, noted income from patents will allow the group to continue investing in its R&D.

Revenue derived from patents is not a major revenue stream for Huawei, as it is not the company's main business model, but it is one of the sources for Huawei to keep investing in its R&D, Ding said.

According to the official, Huawei is considered to be the biggest contributor in setting global 5G standards amid its aggressive research and development or R&D.

The Chinese titan began researching 5G connectivity technologies in 2009. Currently, it holds the largest number of 5G standard-essential patents, accounting for 18.3 percent of the global 5G patent families.

It ended 2020 holding more than 100,000 active patents in over 40,000 patent families worldwide. Last year, it also filed 5,464 international patent applications.

As the patent leader in China, it faced the wrath of the US government.

This started when former US President Donald Trump claimed that Huawei is a threat to information and communications technology and services as it can share customer data with the Chinese government.

In May 2019, its Department of Commerce included Huawei under its blacklist, hindering the firm to do business with American companies.

Source: Nikkei Asia