Huawei says it has agreed multi-year patent licence deal with Qualcomm

Huawei Technologies said on Monday, 5 October 2026, that it had agreed a broad, multi-year patent licence agreement with Qualcomm. According to Huawei, the agreement covers 5G, computing and artificial intelligence technologies.

The announcement was reported by SCMP and Reuters. SCMP cites a Huawei statement; Reuters attributes the announcement to Huawei without mentioning a statement. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include any statement or confirmation from Qualcomm.

What is reported

According to Reuters' summary of the announcement, the agreement also covers networking technologies. SCMP mentions networking only in connection with patents that Qualcomm is purchasing.

According to SCMP, Huawei said in a statement that the deal involves cross-licensing between the two companies' patent portfolios. SCMP also reports that Huawei said the deal includes Qualcomm's purchase of specific Huawei US patents across compute, AI, networking and other technologies.

Huawei said the transaction does not involve any other business cooperation and remains subject to regulatory approvals, according to SCMP. The value of the deal was not disclosed, SCMP reports.

SCMP reports that this is the first time Qualcomm has agreed to pay to license and acquire patents from Huawei. SCMP gives no source for that statement.

Background

According to SCMP, Huawei and Qualcomm settled a dispute in 2020, with Huawei agreeing to pay Qualcomm US$1.8 billion in back licensing fees. SCMP also reports that Huawei has been pushing to monetise its patent portfolio in telecommunications, audio and video to boost returns on its research and development spending.

What each side says

• Huawei Technologies: SCMP describes the deal as a "multi-year, broad patent licence agreement", without explicitly attributing the quoted phrase to Huawei's statement. According to SCMP's account, Huawei says the deal involves cross-licensing of both firms' portfolios, includes Qualcomm's purchase of specific Huawei US patents, involves no other business cooperation and is subject to regulatory approvals.
• Qualcomm: The reports do not include any statement from Qualcomm.

What is not known

The reports leave several points open:

• Money: SCMP reports that Qualcomm is paying to license and acquire Huawei patents, but the reports do not give the financial value of the deal, the size of any payments, or the price of the patents being purchased.
• Duration: they do not specify the exact length of the agreement or when it takes effect.
• Patents: they do not identify which Huawei US patents Qualcomm is buying, or how many.
• Approvals: they do not say which regulators must approve the transaction, in which jurisdictions, or on what timeline.
• Statement text: they do not include the full text of Huawei's statement. The Reuters item is a one-sentence summary.

Analysis

The account so far rests on a single origin: Huawei's own account of the deal. Confirmation from Qualcomm would clarify the terms. If SCMP's report is accurate that Qualcomm is paying to license and acquire Huawei patents for the first time, the deal could indicate a change in the commercial relationship between the two companies, which according to SCMP settled a dispute in 2020 with a Huawei payment. The outcome also depends on regulatory approvals, and the reports do not name the regulators or a timeline. Approval, delay or changes to the terms all remain possible. Without financial details, the deal's weight for either company cannot be assessed.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.