• InterDigital inks multi-year patent licence agreement with Huawei
  • Deal ends two years of negotiations and the dismissal of all outstanding litigations
  • InterDigital CEO: “The agreement also underscores the fairness and flexibility of our licensing approach”

InterDigital has signed a multi-year license agreement with Chinese manufacturer Huawei with the companies agreeing to dismiss pending litigation between the two.

huawei credit B.Zhou shutterstock

Huawei: Patent deal with Interdigital

Source: B.Zhou shutterstock

InterDigital, a mobile and video technology research and development company, today announced that, together with its patent holding subsidiaries, it has signed a multi-year, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty bearing patent license agreement with the Chinese vendor.

The deal covers specific Huawei products and Interdigital essential patents, including the sale of certain Huawei 3G, 4G and 5G terminal unit products. It covers the use of Wi-Fi and HEVC in those products, and extends through to 31 December 2023.

The financials of the agreement were not outlined but the closure of the deal ends two years of negotiations.

InterDigital chief executive William J Merritt said: “This agreement, reached amid challenging circumstances given the current economic downturn, highlights the strength of our business and the value of InterDigital’s contributions to multiple generations of wireless and video standards.

“The agreement also underscores the fairness and flexibility of our licensing approach, including our rate and portfolio transparency, which set an industry standard.”

This agreement follows InterDigital’s recent transparency initiative, in which the company’s standards essential patent (SEP) licensing rate program, including information regarding its rate structure, licensing and arbitration principles as well as important data about its large SEP portfolio, became readily and publicly accessible via this website.

InterDigital develops mobile and video technologies that are at the core of devices, networks, and services worldwide.

In connection with the agreement, InterDigital and Huawei have also agreed to dismiss all outstanding litigation and other proceedings among them and their affiliates. These include:

  • Rate-setting case initiated by Huawei, filed in January 2018 in the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court;
  • UK case initiated by InterDigital in December 2019, in the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, Intellectual Property List (Chancery Division), Patents Court.

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