Huawei’s 6th Innovation and IP Forum: Unlocking Innovation through Openness
On November 11, 2025, Huawei hosted its sixth annual Innovation and Intellectual Property (IP) Forum, a global gathering of innovation leaders and IP experts. The event celebrated the winners of Huawei’s prestigious ‘Top Ten Inventions’ award, highlighting the company’s commitment to open innovation and IP protection.
As Liuping Song, Huawei’s Chief Legal Officer, emphasized, “Open innovation is at the heart of our DNA. We believe in sharing knowledge and fostering collaboration to drive technological advancements.”
In 2024, Huawei’s patent licensing revenue reached approximately US$630 million, showcasing the significant impact of its IP contributions. Interestingly, Huawei has paid nearly three times more in patent royalties than it has received, demonstrating a strong commitment to supporting innovation across the industry.
Marco Alemán, Assistant Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), praised Huawei’s leadership in IP. He stated, “Huawei is a driving force behind global innovation. With 6,600 published Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications in 2024, they have been the top user of the PCT system since 2014.”
Etienne Sanz de Acedo, CEO of the International Trademark Association, added, “Intellectual Property (IP) is a universal language that translates innovation into tangible value. It empowers companies to build a competitive edge.”
Ningling Wang, President-elect of the Licensing Executives Society International, encouraged collaboration and responsible licensing practices, stating, “Industry leaders and policymakers must work together to break down barriers and share knowledge.”
The forum showcased Huawei’s groundbreaking innovations in computing, HarmonyOS, and storage, reinforcing its position as a technology leader. Alan Fan, Vice President and Head of Intellectual Property Rights, explained, “We share our technologies through open-source software, open hardware, and standard contributions, ensuring accessibility and collaboration.”
In 2024, Huawei achieved remarkable milestones: publishing 37,000 patents, submitting over 10,000 technical contributions to standards organizations, and publishing more than 1,000 academic papers. The OpenHarmony source code expanded by 10 million lines, with contributions from 8,100 community members, and openEuler installations surpassed 10 million.
Huawei’s impact on cellular standards is significant. By the end of 2024, over 2.7 billion 5G devices were licensed under Huawei’s patents, and more than 1.2 billion consumer electronic devices were licensed in the Wi-Fi domain. In multimedia, Huawei’s video codec patents enabled over 3.2 billion devices. Additionally, 48 Fortune Global 500 companies are Huawei licensees.
Heiwai Tang, Associate Vice-President of the University of Hong Kong, praised Huawei’s adherence to international IP norms, stating, “Innovation thrives in a robust, open, and globally trusted patent system. Huawei’s commitment to IP protection is essential for a healthy business ecosystem.”
To further promote open innovation, Huawei launched the Chaspark Patent site in June 2024, offering free access to patent information. The platform has been updated with semantic search and AI summary features, making it an invaluable resource for researchers worldwide.
Guest speakers at the forum shared their experiences in open innovation, including Yali Zhu, Qi Wang, Mattia Fogliacco, and Laurie Fitzgerald. Song concluded, “We aim to create an environment that nurtures innovation and IP protection. By collaborating with industry partners, we can drive sustainable growth and development.”
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