As 5G Smartphones Gaining Market Share, Patent Suits with 5G SEPs are also Gaining Traction
3GPP which develops protocols and specifications for Mobile Telecommunications, had started introducing 5G architecture & procedures from Release 15 (2017). Since then, a lot of new 5G technologies were introduced like Access Traffic Steering, Switching & Splitting (ATSSS), Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), UE power optimization techniques for 5G RF processing and many others. All these to provide higher speeds, low latency, and greater bandwidths over previous generations. As 3GPP is moving towards 5G-Advanced from Release 18, companies will be looking to gain an edge in 5G space by identifying Standard Essential Patents (SEP) and start their Licensing & Litigation campaigns among themselves.
Not just the big Tech companies, NPEs who largely acquire and assert their patents against big Tech players are also trying to acquire patents with good SEP potential. Today, we will see a brief overview of Litigation trend involving 5G SEP patents against one of the top smartphone manufacturers, Apple. Apple started supporting 5G functionalities from its iPhone 12 series models, launched in October 2020. The latest iPhone 13 series and iPhone SE (3rd Gen) models also support 5G. Since its launch of iPhone 12 with 5G, let us see the number of lawsuits involving 5G SEPs filed against Apple claiming alleged infringement.
Till date, 7 patent lawsuits involving 5G SEPs were filed against Apple within a year and half since its first 5G iPhone launch. Plaintiffs for these lawsuits include Ericsson, Neo Wireless LLC, Togail Technologies Ltd, Smart Mobile Technologies LLC, Speir Technologies Ltd, and Lionra Technologies Limited. Check out more information on latest lawsuits by Neo Wireless and Togail Technologies in my other articles. As you can see, most of these Plaintiffs are NPEs (except for Ericsson) who seem to be doing an aggressive acquisition of Telecommunication related patents with SEP potential. I just explored data for Apple and there could be more such lawsuits involving 5G SEPs against other manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola, Google, TCL etc.
This just seems to be the starting of a litigation trend that could pick up more traction in near future. We would also see more mergers and acquisitions from these Top smartphone manufacturers with an intent of building a patent stronghold around 5G technology. Apple already started doing this when it acquired Intel’s Smartphone Modem Business that came with good wireless and cellular communications related patents. Stay tuned for more patent litigation updates!
