LTE Standard Essential Patents 2Q 2015

TechIPm researched patents for the LTE standard regarding UE (cellular phones, smart phones, PDAs, mobile PCs, etc.) and base station (eNBs, Femtocells, Relays) products, issued in the USPTO as of June 30, 2015. TechIPm’s research identified more than 1700 patents that are related to the LTE standard.

To evaluate the essentiality of a patent for the LTE-Advanced standard and the key features of the LTE-Advanced Enhancements standard, patent disclosures in claims and detail description for each identified LTE related patent are compared to the final versions of the 3GPP Release 10 technical specifications for the LTE RAN (Radio Access Network), Release 11 technical specifications for CoMP, Release 12 technical specifications for EPDCCH and D2D (Device to Device) Communications. Total of 495 patents are selected as the potential candidates of the LTE standard essential patents (SEPs) (their patent disclosure are related to LTE technical specifications overall).

Among 39 IPR holders, LG Electronics accounts for 16% of the IPR share followed by Samsung Electronics, Qualcomm, Optis Cellular Technology, InterDigital, Ericsson, Google and Nokia.

TechIPm’s research also uncovered increasing IPR share of the LTE SEPs by the active monetization entities (entities exploit LTE SEPs for monetization purpose actively) including the patent trolls. IPR share of the LTE SEPs by the active monetization entities accounts for 28%, which implies the increasing potential litigation risks. TechIPm’s research identified many LTE SEPs owned by the active monetization entities that are used for several patent litigations already.

For more information, please contact Alex Lee at alexglee@techipm.com .

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