‘Weapons of economic warfare’: Huawei has 56,492 patents – and it’s not afraid to use them
- Chinese telecoms giant is stepping up pursuit of royalties and licensing fees as US restricts access to American markets and suppliers
- Huawei is currently engaged in negotiations or disputes with Verizon, Qualcomm and defence firm Harris Corp.
As Huawei comes under unrelenting pressure from the Trump administration, the Chinese telecoms giant has one advantage that the US cannot undermine: a vast, global portfolio of patents on critical technology.
Huawei holds 56,492 active patents on telecommunications, networking and other hi-tech inventions worldwide, according to Anaqua’s AcclaimIP. And it is stepping up pursuit of royalties and licensing fees as its access to American markets and suppliers is being restricted.
The company is in protracted licensing talks with phone-services provider Verizon Communications and is in a dispute with chip maker Qualcomm over the value of patents. Huawei also lodged claims against Harris Corp. after the defence contractor sued it last year alleging infringement of patents for networking and cloud security.
“Patents are, at their basic level, weapons of economic warfare,” said Brad Hulbert, a patent lawyer with McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff in Chicago “They’re being hurt by the sanctions that the Trump administration imposed and saying ‘You have hurt us and our ability to sell, and we can hurt back.’ It’s sabre-rattling.”
Broader national security concerns also hang over this technology battle. In some circles Huawei’s outsize role as a supplier to next generation, or 5G networks makes it a potential threat either as an espionage agent or network disruption tool.