How Huawei Balances Patent Income With Open Innovation
Huawei has revealed that its patent licensing revenue reached approximately US$630m in 2024, while the company’s patent royalty payments over the years have totalled nearly three times the amount it has received.
The company’s sixth Innovation and Intellectual Property Forum event in Beijing brought together experts in innovation and intellectual property from around the world to examine the role of openness and IP protection in driving technological advancement. Liuping Song, Chief Legal Officer at Huawei, used the forum to outline the company’s approach to innovation and intellectual property.
“Open innovation drives society and technology forward, and it’s in our DNA,” Song says. “We are committed to an open approach to innovation. Huawei respects the IP of others, and protects its own, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets.”
Huawei leads WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty applications
The company’s patent activity has positioned it as a prominent user of international IP systems. “Huawei is a leading global user of WIPO’s Global IP Services and a strong driver of innovation,” says Marco Alemán, Assistant Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization. “Huawei had 6,600 published Patent Cooperation Treaty applications in 2024 and has been the top user of the PCT system since 2014.”
The scale of Huawei’s IP operations extends across multiple technology domains. By the end of 2024, more than 2.7 billion 5G devices had been licensed under Huawei’s patents in the cellular standard field. In the Wi-Fi domain, over 1.2 billion consumer electronic devices have been licensed under the company's patents, while more than 3.2 billion multimedia devices have been licensed under its video codec patents. A total of 48 Fortune Global 500 companies are Huawei licensees, either directly or indirectly.
Huawei is a leading global user of WIPO’s Global IP Services and a strong driver of innovation.
Etienne Sanz de Acedo, Chief Executive Officer of the International Trademark Association, addressed the forum on the nature of intellectual property as a commercial asset. “As an intangible asset, IP is a universal language that translates innovation and creativity into quantifiable value,” he says.
Huawei publishes 37,000 patents and expands OpenHarmony
The forum also served as the venue for announcing the winners of Huawei’s biennial Top Ten Inventions award, with the recognised innovations spanning computing, the HarmonyOS operating system and storage technologies.
Alan Fan, Vice President and Head of the Intellectual Property Rights Department at Huawei, detailed the company’s approach to technology dissemination. He highlighted that Huawei shares its technologies through open-source software, open hardware, patent filings, standard contributions and academic papers.
In 2024, Huawei published 37,000 patents, marking a record for the company. The firm also submitted more than 10,000 technical contributions to standards organisations and published over 1,000 academic papers. The source code for OpenHarmony grew by another 10 million lines, with submissions from over 8,100 community contributors and openEuler exceeded 10 million installations.
“Industry leaders, policymakers, researchers and entrepreneurs foster collaboration, to share knowledge, to reduce barriers and to practice responsible licensing,” says Ningling Wang, President-elect of the Licensing Executives Society International.
Chaspark Patent platform receives updates for researchers
Huawei launched the Chaspark Patent site in June 2024, providing researchers with a platform to search for patent information without cost. The service addresses the expense barrier that can affect students, individual researchers and small organisations in the technology sector. At the forum, the company announced updates to Chaspark Patent, including semantic search capabilities and AI summary features.
“Innovation is a core driver of modern economic growth, and its sustained operation relies upon a robust, open and globally-trusted patent system,” says Heiwai Tang, Associate Vice-President of the University of Hong Kong. “I’m pleased to see companies like Huawei adhering to international IP norms, which maximises the value of IP while fostering a healthy business ecosystem.”
Innovation is a core driver of modern economic growth, and its sustained operation relies upon a robust, open and globally-trusted patent system.
The forum included presentations from other industry figures, with Yali Zhu, General Manager of PatSnap China, Qi Wang, Asia Pacific Director of Clarivate, Mattia Fogliacco, President of Sisvel and Laurie Fitzgerald, President of Avanci Vehicle, sharing perspectives on open innovation practices.
Song concluded the forum by reiterating Huawei's position on intellectual property protection. “We are committed to building an environment that protects innovation and IP, and work closely with industry partners to promote constructive IP protection. This way, members of the industry can continue to grow and develop together.”
