Huawei to Collect Smartphone Patent Royalties from Samsung Electronics and Apple

Huawei will initiate negotiations with Samsung Electronics and Apple with regard to patent royalties and mutual patent agreements.

Huawei is demanding 5G communications-related patent fees from Samsung Electronics and Apple in a bid to create a new profit source with its smartphone business restricted by U.S. sanctions.The Chinese company announced on March 16 that it would initiate negotiations with Samsung Electronics and Apple with regard to patent royalties and mutual patent agreements. “The upper limit of the royalties per smartphone would be US$2.5,” it said, adding, “This is lower than what are demanded by Qualcomm, Ericsson and Nokia.”

Huawei is the largest patent holder in the world. At the end of last year, it owned more than 40,000 patents along with more than 100,000 valid patents derived from the patents. It is overwhelming in 5G communications in particular. According to German market research firm IPlytics, Huawei currently has 15.4 percent of standard patents in the industry.

Huawei’s patent license revenue for 2019 to 2021 is estimated at US$1.3 billion or so. Still, the exact amount of its patent royalties related to 5G communications is yet to be known.