Ericsson has signed a multi-year cooperation agreement with China-based smartphone vendor OPPO for global 5G patent cross-licensing and business collaborations.
The agreement encompasses global patent cross-license, technical cooperation, market expansion, and other collaborations. The cross-licence pertains to standard-essential patents (SEPs) for cellular communication technologies, including 5G.
As part of the partnership, OPPO will make royalty payments to Ericsson.
OPPO chief intellectual property officer Feng Ying said: “The global patent cross licence between two companies covers cellular standard-essential patents including 5G.
“This agreement reflects the mutual recognition and respect for each other’s intellectual property and lays a solid foundation for our collaboration.
“OPPO has always respected intellectual property, advocated for reasonable fees, and supported the establishment of a long-term healthy IP ecosystem.”
Both parties also aim to carry out business cooperation on various 5G-related projects, including device testing, customer engagements, and marketing activities.
This agreement aligns with global practices where companies offering products based on cellular 3GPP standards, such as 5G, require a licence agreement with patent holders to avoid patent infringement. This also ensures that patent holders are compensated for their research and development (R&D) investments.
Ericsson said that the financial benefit of the new alliance has already been reflected in the company’s financial results for Q2 2024.
Ericsson chief intellectual property officer Christina Petersson said: “This important royalty bearing licence agreement with OPPO allows Ericsson to further invest in fundamental communications technologies.
“The licence confirms that the patent licensing industry works and is proof that a vast majority of license agreements are based on business negotiations. It also reflects the mutual respect for each other’s patent portfolio.”
As of last month, OPPO had filed more than 103,000 patent applications worldwide. Of these, more than 57,000 patents were granted, with 91% of all patent applications being utility patents.
