Huawei will start charging smartphone manufacturers royalties of up to $2.50 per 5G enabled handset. The royalties will be applied on every handset using Huawei’s patented technology sold by the vendors.
According to intellectual property firm GreyB, Huawei has declared ownership of about 3,007 5G Patent families filed in different countries. At least 18 percent of these are considered “essential” to 5G’S protocols and technical specifications as they enable 5G connectivity.
This means that Smartphone manufacturers are required to pay for “standard essential patents” to develop 5G enabled devices.Smartphone manufacturers including Apple and Samsung are therefore likely to be required to pay Huawei for 5G royalty patents.
Read: UK Reviewing Huawei Impact on its 5G Networks
As the Chinese company continues suffering from the setbacks occasioned by the US sanctions, the new 5G patents provide a lifeline as some of the world’s biggest smartphone vendors will still need to cooperate with them for the manufacture of 5G phones. This also gives Huawei an alternative revenue stream after it was cut off from the global semi-conductor supply chain.
Huawei Chief Legal Officer Song Liuping said the company will negotiate its royalty rates and extend a cross-licensing option to Apple and Samsung. GreyB says the company is projecting revenue of at least $1.3 billion from its intellectual property inventory.
Huawei plans to charge a bit lower than their counterparts for the 5G SEPs. In 2018, Nokia said it would charge around $3.57 per device while Ericsson said it would charge $2.50 and $5 per device.
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