Huawei Technologies Co. to commence charging mobile giants Apple Inc. and Samsung a 5G patent royalty fee.
Apple and Qualcomm waged war over patent royalties for many years but ultimately reached an out-of-court settlement.
Huawei, the owner of the world’s largest portfolio of 5G patents will negotiate rates and potential cross-licensing with the iPhone maker and Samsung Electronics Co., Chief Legal Officer Song Liuping said.
Huawei aims to get paid regardless of U.S. efforts to block its network gear and shut it out of the supply chain. It however promised to charge lower rates than its rivals.
According to executives, Huawei is likely to rake about $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion in patent and licensing fees between 2019 and 2021 from its 5G.
China’s largest technology company by revenue wants a seat at the table with tech giants vying to define the rapidly evolving field of connected cars, smart homes and robotic surgery.
Having only just become a major player in 5G standards boards, Huawei is now grappling with U.S. sanctions that have all but crippled its smartphone business and threaten to hamstring its networking division abroad.
“It’s natural” for Huawei to collect on patents, an executive told Bloomberg reporters in Shenzhen Tuesday.