HP signed a multi-year global patent cross-licensing agreement with Huawei following a legal dispute covering patents relating to Wi-Fi.

Huawei portrayed the agreement as a mammoth win following its blacklisting in the U.S. over national security concerns back in 2019.

But HP pushed back, claiming the Chinese vendor had "mischaracterized" the deal, "portraying the settlement of a legal dispute as a broader partnership."

"Huawei is not a supplier to HP nor is HP a supplier to Huawei," a statement sent to SDxCentral reads. "HP is not incorporating any Huawei components or technology into HP products."

Huawei, Philips, and South Korea's Wilus took action against HP and a handful of other companies for alleged infringement of a Wi-Fi 6-related patent via the Unified Patent Court, the supranational body tasked with settling disputes on European patents.

In November 2025, HP would join Sisvel’s Wi-Fi 6 patent pool, giving it access to some 2,000 patents that would allow it to implement the at-issue Wi-Fi technology and, as a result, bring the legal proceedings to a close. The likes of Cisco, Netgear, and Acer are also licensees under the related patent pool.

Earlier this week, Texas-based lawyer Steven Geiszler, who represented Huawei in the negotiations, said the agreement includes it “obtaining valuable reciprocal patent rights from HP."

The statement from HP, however, reads: "The agreement is not a strategic partnership, nor a commercial alliance, nor a supply agreement, nor any other form of collaboration."

HP's insistence on distancing itself from Huawei didn't faze the Chinese vendor, with Huawei Chief IP Officer Alan Fan saying: “This agreement is a strong testament to Huawei's persistent independent innovation in cutting-edge fields in information and communications technology (ICT)."

“Through patent licensing, Huawei shares its innovation with the industry, particularly in the area of standardized technologies, which brings leading technological experiences to consumers worldwide," Fan added.

Huawei has long placed IP at the forefront of its business and is one of the world's largest holders and licensors. According to its IP portal, the company held more than 165,000 active patents at the end of 2025, with 21.8% of its revenue for that year going into R&D efforts.

Huawei earlier this year unveiled patent licensing royalty rates for its Wi-Fi 7 technologies at 50 cents per unit for consumer‑grade devices.

UPDATE: This story has been updated to reflect HP's position.