On January 30, 2026, the High Court of England and Wales ruled on the standard essential patent (SEP) dispute between TP-Link and Huawei. Presided over by Judge Richard Meade, the court granted Huawei's application for an interim license, making Huawei the first patent holder to proactively obtain such a ruling under the UK judicial framework.

Under the ruling, TP-Link must pay Huawei $12 million, including interest, as a non-refundable and upwardly adjustable advance payment. This sum serves as the minimum payment threshold for royalties. Even if subsequent rulings establish a lower total FRAND rate, the $12 million paid will not be refunded. Should actual sales data later exceed current estimates, TP-Link must make up the difference. Regarding the portion of the interim payment exceeding $12 million (determined by the court based on the midpoint of the parties' offers), it carries a refundable/adjustable attribute: if the final adjudicated amount falls below the total interim payment, the portion exceeding $12 million paid by TP-Link shall be refunded.

Patent royalty calculations are retroactive to 2008, with interest accruing at a compound rate of “US Prime Rate + 1%” (currently 6.75%). Beyond this payment, TP-Link must provide additional financial security based on the midpoint of the parties' royalty offer gap.

The ruling further stipulates that if TP-Link accepts these interim licensing terms, Huawei will withdraw its patent infringement lawsuits. Once the interim license takes effect, neither party may seek an anti-suit injunction (ASI) in this case. The interim royalty rates established are: $0.50 per unit for WiFi 6 products and $0.10 per unit for earlier WiFi versions.

As of now, the additional interim licensing amount based on the $12 million foundation remains undetermined, with the court intending to issue further rulings at subsequent hearings this month. It is reported that Huawei used the term “adjustable license” in the litigation, while the court uniformly defined it as an “interim license application” in the ruling. The patent licensing scope covered in this litigation encompasses relevant products sold by TP-Link from 2008 to the second quarter of 2027.

Case Background

On July 2, 2025, the China National Intellectual Property Administration announced that Shenzhen Lianzhou International Technology Co., Ltd. (Guangming Branch) filed a request for invalidation against Huawei's patent “Resource Indication Method and Device for WLAN System” (ZL201810493563.7). After deliberation by the panel, the invalidation request was rejected, and the patent was upheld as valid.

On August 27, 2025, Huawei filed a lawsuit against domestic network equipment manufacturer TP-Link at the Munich Regional Division of the Unified Patent Court (Case No.: UPC_CFI_804/2025);

On September 5, 2025, TP-Link and its UK subsidiary filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Huawei in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales (EWHC) (Case No.: HP-2025-000045);

December 2025: The UPC Court of Appeal issued a procedural ruling on the discovery dispute between Huawei and TP-Link, suspending the lower court's decision to grant TP-Link access to certain documents from another patent lawsuit between Huawei and Netgear during the appeal proceedings.