Apple Outmaneuvered Samsung with New LTE Patents
Yesterday Samsung's mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun stated that without Samsung-owned wireless patents, it's impossible for Apple to produce the iPhone. Yet within the last 24 hours, another Korean news source now admits that Apple has been found to actually be ahead of Samsung in the number of registered US patents directly related to LTE. An American intellectual property consulting firm by the name of TechIPm analyzed the LTE patents along with ETN. The results were surprising.
The LTE Patent Breakdown
According to ETN's findings, Samsung and Apple owned 84 and 91 patents directly related to LTE telephony, respectively. The number of the patents that can immediately be used in lawsuits was 44 vs. 48.
Samsung outdid Apple in terms of the number of standard patents (17 vs. 2) and communication protocol patents (19 vs. 14).
Meanwhile, Apple surpassed Samsung when it comes to modem-related patents (77 vs. 65) thanks to its acquisition of Nortel, which had a quantity of patents related to base station equipment. 90% of Apple's LTE patents were acquired by transfer from Nortel and the other 10% from Freescale Semiconductor.
Related Report: Apple Continues to Build their Nortel Patent Arsenal
I don’t think one could say “Advantage, Apple” with these findings, but it’s safe to say the related court cases are going to be a battle of who holds what patent for which part of the other’s tech.
Posted by: Cygnis Media | November 23, 2012 at 12:54 AM
I don't own a iPhone or anything close to a smartphone, but the gum flapping that Samsung has been doing in recent days tells me that they are sore losers and if I ever do have the inclination to buy a smartphone, Samsung has lost my business even before they had it. This goes for anything made by Samsung.
Posted by: Facebook Application Development | November 23, 2012 at 12:42 AM