HP Signs Global License Deal for Huawei WiFi Patents Despite US Blacklist

HP, a US-based personal computing and printing company, has signed a multi-year global licensing agreement to use certain WiFi patents from Chinese telecom giant Huawei, the companies announced Wednesday.

This deal marks a notable adoption of Huawei's technology outside China despite the US blacklisting the company in 2019, which restricted Huawei's cooperation with American suppliers such as Google.

The agreement follows a patent dispute among HP, Huawei, and other firms that concluded last fall, allowing HP access to a pool of 2,000 patents related to wireless network connectivity. Huawei was a founding member of the patent pool, known as Sisvel WiFi 6.

Steven Geiszler, who represented Huawei during the negotiations, stated, "The latest global cross-licensing agreement includes valuable reciprocal patent rights from HP." Geiszler, based in Texas, served as Huawei's senior in-house intellectual property lawyer for nearly ten years before establishing his own firm in April, with Huawei as his main client.

HP was spun off as a separate entity in 2015 following the split of Hewlett-Packard Company into two units. The company is scheduled to release its earnings Thursday morning Beijing time.