Huawei Highlights Openness at Innovation and IP Forum
- Company announces new inventions and updates to patent initiatives
On November 11, 2025, Huawei hosted its sixth Innovation and Intellectual Property Forum, bringing together global experts to discuss openness and IP protection in advancing technology and social progress. The company announced winners of its biannual “Top Ten Inventions” award, covering areas such as computing, HarmonyOS, and storage. Chief Legal Officer Liuping Song emphasized Huawei’s commitment to open innovation while respecting and protecting intellectual property rights. He noted that Huawei pays nearly three times more in patent royalties than it receives.
Patent Activity and Global Contributions
Huawei reported patent licensing revenue of about US$630 million in 2024. That same year, the company published 37,000 patents, submitted over 10,000 technical contributions to standards organizations, and released more than 1,000 academic papers. Marco Alemán of the World Intellectual Property Organization highlighted Huawei’s role as the top user of the Patent Cooperation Treaty system since 2014, with 6,600 published applications in 2024. Industry leaders at the forum stressed that intellectual property translates innovation into measurable value and fosters collaboration across sectors.
Alan Fan, Vice President of Huawei’s Intellectual Property Rights Department, explained that the company shares technologies through open-source software, open hardware, and academic research. OpenHarmony’s source code expanded by 10 million lines in 2024, supported by contributions from over 8,100 developers. Meanwhile, openEuler surpassed 10 million installations, reflecting strong community engagement. These efforts underline Huawei’s approach to openness in both hardware and software ecosystems.
Licensing Reach and Industry Impact
By the end of 2024, Huawei’s patents had been licensed across billions of devices worldwide. More than 2.7 billion 5G devices, 1.2 billion Wi-Fi consumer electronics, and 3.2 billion multimedia devices used Huawei’s licensed technologies. Forty-eight Fortune Global 500 companies are licensees, either directly or indirectly. Heiwai Tang of the University of Hong Kong noted that adherence to international IP norms strengthens economic growth and supports a healthy business ecosystem.
Guest speakers from organizations including PatSnap, Clarivate, Sisvel, and Avanci Vehicle shared best practices in open innovation. Ningling Wang of the Licensing Executives Society International encouraged collaboration and responsible licensing to reduce barriers. The forum highlighted how openness and IP protection can coexist to drive technological progress. Huawei’s initiatives were presented as examples of balancing innovation with compliance.
Expanding Access to Patent Information
Huawei also announced updates to its Chaspark Patent site, launched in June 2024. The platform provides free access to patent information, a resource often costly for students, researchers, and small organizations. New features include semantic search and AI-generated summaries, designed to make patent exploration more efficient. Song concluded by reaffirming Huawei’s commitment to building an environment that protects innovation and supports industry-wide growth.
Huawei’s Chaspark Patent site is part of a broader trend to democratize access to intellectual property data. By offering free tools with advanced search and AI summaries, the platform lowers barriers for independent researchers and smaller firms, potentially accelerating innovation beyond large corporate labs.
