technology and innovation are the first competitiveness. In the smartphone industry with fierce competition and severe inclination , there are many cases of litigation wars among leading brands due to patent technology. Patented technology has always been regarded as an important guarantee for corporate survival and product competitiveness, and is also an extremely valuable "exclusive resource".
Surprisingly, the two giants that are competitors, , Huawei and OPPO, actually announced that they would join hands with patents and grant them, and practiced the overall concept of "making more friends and fewer enemies" with practical actions.
On December 9, Huawei announced that it had signed a global patent cross-license agreement with OPPO. The mutual patent granting of both parties means that the two companies can communicate with each other's patent technology. The two parties can use each other's patent technology within the scope of the patents and practices licensed by the agreement, including the necessary patents for cellular communication standards including the 5G standard.
It is undeniable that this year, the global smartphone industry's cold winter environment and the scarcity of patented technologies, this model of resource replacement is a manifestation of a large-scale pattern, and it is also conducive to the reduction of patented technology costs by both partners, as well as the later product iteration and the sustainable development of the industry. Compared with the traditional litigation and battles surrounding patent technology in the past, the mutual exchange between the two parties by signing the cross-license agreement is obviously a more efficient, low-cost and easy to be accepted cooperation model.
In terms of patented technology, Huawei and OPPO are obviously in the same ranks of cooperation. According to a report released by the Intellectual Property Development Research Center of the State Intellectual Property Office, in the 2021 China Private Enterprise invention patent authorization ranking, Huawei and OPPO ranked first and third respectively. The two parties cooperated through patent mutual granting. The total amount of their respective patent technology is obviously a bargaining chip for resource replacement between the two parties. At present, it seems that neither Huawei nor OPPO's patent mutual granting cooperation suffers from the patent mutual granting cooperation.
For a long time, Huawei's unique corporate culture and strategic direction have been very inclined to the research and development of independent technology. Therefore, compared with other local brands, Huawei's patent precipitation has always been very deep, and its advantages can be most fully reflected in 5G patents. According to data from the Intellectual Property Development Research Center of the State Intellectual Property Office, Huawei owns 6,583 5G standard patents, accounting for 14% of the total patents, and is also the company in the world that masters the most 5G patent technology.
On the other hand, as a collaborator of the strong, OPPO's patented technology reserves also have strong basic advantages. Data shows that as of the end of 2021, OPPO's invention patents reached 4,196, maintaining the top three for three consecutive years among private enterprises in China.
Obviously, Huawei is the strongest brother in terms of patent technology reserves, but OPPO is also not a "pig teammate". Only by equalizing patent value and resource allocation between the two parties can promote the cooperation between patent mutual granting between the two. It is worth mentioning that although OPPO is not Huawei's first company to sign a patent cross-license agreement, it is one of the largest and most powerful teammates with the largest number of patents. The cooperation between Huawei and OPPO, means that the two companies that have accumulated the most inventive patent licensing in China's communications industry have joined forces to keep warm.
Compared with electronic consumer products such as mobile phones and computers, the battle for patent technology and intellectual property has been a long history, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a battlefield without gunpowder. In overseas markets, industry giants such as Qualcomm , Apple , Samsung have all been in court due to patent technology and intellectual property related issues. Due to the difficulty of proof, high cost and long cycle of such cases, technology companies have spent a lot of energy and financial resources on this, and are so busy that they are in a hurry. A lawsuit takes several years and a large amount of capital from the beginning to the end.
Therefore, Huawei and OPPO join forces to grant patents is obviously a manifestation of "opening the pattern".In light of the global consumer electronics this year, sales of the mobile phone market continue to decline. Compared with the previous sprints to the high-end market, mobile phone manufacturers are facing greater pressure on how to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. In an environment where demand is already sluggish and performance declines, how can companies reduce costs as much as possible without losing product competitiveness? In the cold winter of the industry, it is more beneficial for both partners to join forces with patents to keep warm.
In addition, the technology industry giants led by the United States are constantly putting pressure on China's technology industry to continue to increase their suppression and restrictions on China's technology industry with their own technological advantages. Huawei suffered so much in 5G that companies in the world that have the most 5G patented technologies are unable to launch 5G mobile phones. Not long ago, the United States once again banned the sale or import of equipment from five companies, including Huawei, ZTE , Hikvision , Hikvision , Hitland and Zhejiang Dahua . The importance of Chinese technology companies breaking through overseas technical barriers has also become more important to be taken seriously.
It can be seen from this that the importance of technology companies on patent technology and the cooperation model of patent mutual granting is even more worthy of recognition and promotion.
On the other hand, it is conducive to mutual communication and reducing costs. Enterprises need more advanced patented technologies or related solutions to ensure that the product has sufficient competitiveness. However, first of all, due to cost and pricing factors, it is impossible to independently develop every item in patented technologies. After all, long cycles and large investments will increase the cost of the enterprise. However, without these patented technologies, the competitiveness of products cannot be ensured, and the patent mutual granting model will take into account the actual needs of enterprises for both technology and cost. Both parties can use some of the other party's related patented technologies at a lower cost, so as to achieve a better technical advantage in the product at a low cost.
Overall, the patent mutual granting of Huawei and OPPO is a benign and continuous business cooperation model. Especially this year, the global economy of is sluggish and the electronic consumer goods market is sluggish. It has opened up the pattern and maximized the increase in revenue and reduction of expenditure through patent mutual granting, and is conducive to the sustainable development of products and enterprises. It is not only worthy of advocacy and recognition, but also a major advantage of joining together to keep warm in the industry in the cold winter.
