Huawei and Qualcomm Enter First Broad Patent Licensing Deal Covering 5G; Qualcomm to Acquire Certain Huawei U.S. Patents

On October 5, 2026, Huawei and Qualcomm announced a multi-year patent licensing agreement covering multiple technology fields. According to separate statements issued by both companies, the agreement includes cross-licensing of their respective patent portfolios in areas such as 5G, computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and networking, as well as Qualcomm's acquisition of certain Huawei U.S. patents in the fields of computing, AI, networking, and other technologies. The transaction is subject to receipt of necessary regulatory approvals.

According to a statement published on Huawei's official website, the agreement covers two main components: first, cross-licensing of the parties' respective patent portfolios in the fields of 5G, computing, AI, networking, and other technologies, on a multi-year, worldwide basis; and second, Qualcomm's purchase of specified Huawei U.S. patents in the fields of computing, AI, networking, and other technologies. Neither party disclosed the specific financial terms of the agreement or the number of patents involved.

This patent licensing agreement is not a simple cross-license but a composite arrangement combining cross-licensing with the transfer of patent assets. Cross-licensing addresses the authorization for each party to use the other's patents in implementing their respective products; the patent acquisition involves a transfer of ownership, under which Qualcomm will obtain ownership of certain Huawei U.S. patents, rather than merely a right of use. The two differ fundamentally in legal nature and legal consequences.

According to China Daily, this is the first patent licensing agreement between Huawei and Qualcomm covering 5G technology, and also the first revenue-positive agreement for Huawei in the history of Huawei-Qualcomm cooperation. This formulation means that, in the net settlement under the cross-license, Huawei is no longer merely a net payer for the first time.

This turning point is grounded in patent strength. A report released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) in 2026 shows that Huawei accounts for 11.70% of 5G effective patent families, ranking first globally, and 13.15% of granted patent families, also ranking first.