Pantech, Korea's smallest smartphone manufacturer that recently announced it would suspend production of mobile devices, turned over 230 U.S. patents to Seoul-based Gold Peak Innovation. Gold Peak is a "patent holding firm" (also known as a patent troll) and conducts transactions like licensing, using assets under its control.

Pantech, which posted operating losses of 59.6 billion won ($53 million), more than its sales of 51.7 trillion won in 2016, already said it will cut its staff and announced earlier that it will capitalize on patents it holds.

The company is known to hold 2,036 domestic and 1,111 overseas patents. Pantech was the first company in the world to have placed a fingerprint sensor on a smartphone.

Apple is on record as of June 29, 2017 of acquiring 11 Pantech patents from Gold Peak on May 22, 2017.

Whether Apple acquired the Pantech patents to stave off a patent infringement lawsuit from the patent troll known as Gold Peak or actually sought them out is unknown at this time. Three of the patents cover a user of a mobile communication terminal being able to use a touch screen to "share a memo while viewing a video call screen of another user to generate character and picture data in real time, and transmit the generated character and picture data in real time, and another mobile communication terminal may simultaneously verify a video call screen and a memo sharing area of the other user, thereby providing an environment in which communication between users may be effectively and smoothly performed."

Below is the list of the Pantech patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office acquired by Apple. Further below is a link to all of the patents for the curious to check out for details.

Links to Each of the Pantech Patents Apple Acquired

01: APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING UPLINK SYNCHRONIZATION IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

02: APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING UPLINK SYNCHRONIZATION IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

03: METHOD FOR SENDING AND RECEIVING SYSTEM INFORMATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AND A SYSTEM INFORMATION SENDING DEVICE AND RECEIVING DEVICE EMPLOYING THE SAME

04: APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING OF CYCLIC SHIFT PARAMETER FOR SUPPORTING ORTHOGONALITY IN MIMO ENVIRONMENT

05: APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING OF CYCLIC SHIFT PARAMETER FOR SUPPORTING ORTHOGONALITY IN MIMO ENVIRONMENT

06: APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING OF CYCLIC SHIFT PARAMETER FOR SUPPORTING ORTHOGONALITY IN MIMO ENVIRONMENT

07: APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING OF CYCLIC SHIFT PARAMETER FOR SUPPORTING ORTHOGONALITY IN MIMO ENVIRONMENT

08: APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING OF CYCLIC SHIFT PARAMETER FOR SUPPORTING ORTHOGONALITY IN MIMO ENVIRONMENT

09: MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINAL AND DATA INPUT METHOD

10: MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINAL AND DATA INPUT METHOD

11: MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINAL AND DATA INPUT METHOD

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