LGE Owns 24,000 4G- and 5G-related Patents

Chinese and U.S. NPEs are interested in acquiring LG Electronics’ 5G patents.

Chinese and U.S. NPEs are vying for LG Electronics’ 5G patents after the company announced its withdrawal from the global smartphone market. South Korean NPE Intellectual Discovery also jumped into the competition.

At present, LG Electronics has approximately 24,000 standard essential patents with regard to 4G and 5G communication technologies. As of the end of February this year, the standard essential patents included about 3,700 5G patents, the third-largest in the world. From 2012 to 2016, LG Electronics was the one with the largest number of 4G patents in the world.

A standard essential patent can be defined as an internationally agreed technological standard. It is characterized by facilitating patent right claims and forestalling patent right infringements and evasive designs. This is why global electronics manufacturers are striving to get as many standard essential patents as possible in the 5G industry. Even Samsung Electronics has had difficulties dealing with LG Electronics’ patents in its smartphone business.

It is said that three Chinese NPEs, three to five U.S. NPEs and the South Korean NPE are currently interested in the patents of LG Electronics for those patents’ various applications in the sectors including telecom equipment and electric vehicle as well as smartphone.

LG Electronics is expected to keep the standard essential patents to utilize those for its future businesses including automotive electronics. However, it is also said that the company will not keep them all because doing so will require no less than 30 billion won or so in annual patent maintenance costs. “The market value of the standard essential patents is estimated at approximately two trillion won,” said an industry insider, adding, “This type of patents are currently owned by a handful of companies, including Qualcomm, Samsung, Ericsson, Nokia and LG, and the South Korean government needs to be prudent in dealing with the issue in view of the rarity.”

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