South Korean electronics firm LG has signed a patent deal with Intellectual Ventures and has in the process followed suit with other companies, such as Research In Motion, Samsung and HTC.
The deal will give LG access to IV’s patent portfolio of 35,000 patents.
Jeong Hwan Lee, EVP and head of LG’s Intellectual Property Centre, said that LG’s patent portfolio was strong and is a critical element to their business strategy. He added, . "Our alliance with IV gives us access to patents outside our core and allows us the freedom to focus on what’s important in our industry – constant innovation."
Industry analysts say other businesses are likely to jump into the IP bandwagon over the coming years.
According to Florian Mueller, a patent consultant, Intellectual Ventures "acquires patents and does some R&D of its own. But the vast majority of its patents are bought on the secondary market, and its business model is to license them."
In fact, Motorola was charged by Intellectual Ventures with infringing six patents in October. IV had reportedly approached Motorola in January to partner with them but the phone maker refused.
