Late yesterday, InterDigital Wireless (NASDAQ:IDCC) said it can still supply 5G network tech to Huawei despite the U.S. ban because the export control laws don’t apply to patents, which are public records and not confidential tech.

Trade attorneys told Reuters the same situation could apply to Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), which supplies chips for Huawei’s lower-priced handsets but makes most of its money from patent licenses.

Huawei accounted for about 14% of InterDigital’s revenue in 2017.

The QCOM-Huawei patent deal started in 2014, but Huawei stopped paying in 2017 as a pricing protest. Qualcomm expects $450M in good faith payments this year as the companies negotiate.

Qualcomm shares are up 3% pre-market to $78.92.

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