LG, Samsung and apple After several years of struggling with big companies such as the United States, it gave up and stopped its smartphone operations in April 2021. But LG’s smartphone operations may not be completely exhausted yet.
According to the report prepared by The Elec, the South Korean technology giant, LG mobile brand It is considering licensing some of its nearly 20,000 smartphone patents to other companies before terminating it. Among these patents 5G Some prominent such as wireless technologies There is also.
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LG wants to monetize smartphone patents
Before LG shuts down its smartphone operations, he said this market had become “very competitive” and it would be better to use its energy in other areas. Considering that LG has been doing well since closing its loss-making mobile division, we can say that this move is the right one.
But LG’s cessation of smartphone operations also voided many patents that it could no longer use. With 4G, 5G and other wireless technologies about about 20,000 patents The company that owns them incurs a cost of about 20 billion won ($16 million) each year to maintain them.
The Elec, on the other hand, claimed that the company has formed a subsidiary that will handle licensing deals with various smartphone brands. LG may also sell some of these patents to rival companies. For example, a few months after LG left the smartphone market Samsung’sLG is reportedly pursuing its 5G patent portfolio.
The distribution of smartphone patents obtained by LG will take place in different ways. Allegedly, LG wants to keep its 5G patents as long as possible because they are important. In fact, the company has patented these patents on its own smart devices and Internet of Things (IoT) their products plans to use it for development.
What makes LG’s decision to license/sell its patents now interesting is the automaker. Volkswagen The fact that many companies, including LG, have applied to LG to purchase these patents after they terminated their mobile operations. Let’s see if there will be new offers from companies like Volkswagen over time.
But what do you think about the smartphone patents taken by LG? Do not forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments section or on the SDN Forum.