Huawei paid Qualcomm $1.8bn in 2020 to settle a long-standing patent infringement dispute.

Huawei and Qualcomm have signed a multi-year broad cross-licensing deal across a number of technologies, including 5G, compute and AI. This is understood to be the first licensing deal between the two covering 5G technologies.

Qualcomm, as part of the agreement, has purchased a number of Huawei’s US patents around AI and networking. The deal will close after necessary regulatory approvals.

Huawei said that the deal, once completed, will take the total value of its patent licensing agreements to more than $6.9bn, according to Reuters reporting.

“This agreement not only demonstrates the value of Huawei’s innovations, but also recognises Qualcomm’s foundational contributions to modern communication technologies,” said Alan Fan, Huawei’s chief intellectual property officer.

“Huawei’s decades of sustained investment in fundamental R&D have driven innovation and progress in mobile communications and other technology fields.

“Huawei’s broad contributions to the 4G/5G standards, such as the near-physical-limit signal transmission technology using polar codes, have established Huawei’s leadership in the mobile communications industry and continuously transformed the way people communicate and live.”

The new licensing agreement comes after the two companies resolved a long-standing patent infringement dispute in 2020.

Huawei, which was accused of withholding payments for the US semiconductor giant’s IP since 2017, agreed to pay the company $1.8bn. Following the settlement, the two agreed on a fresh patent licensing deal.

Huawei and Qualcomm signed their first licensing deal in 2001.

“Qualcomm has invested in foundational wireless technologies that have enabled successive generations of mobile innovation and earned broad recognition across the global wireless industry,” said John Han, executive vice-president and general manager of Qualcomm’s technology licensing division.

“This agreement likewise reflects Qualcomm’s recognition of Huawei’s continued innovation and intellectual property in 5G and other technology fields.”

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