Patent Pools in the Automobile Industry: A Case Study of Internet of Things

Patent pools are a form of technology licensing model that eases the transaction cost between licensors and licensees. The authors in this paper have presented a case study on the patent pool models in the automotive industry, emphasizing the role of standard essential patents in the smart technology used in vehicles. This is of particular importance in the present times due to the extension of telecommunication technologies to the automotive industry such as smart cars. The authors have conducted this study by analysis of the basic, core, and essential patents to measure the innovative potential in the automobile industry. This is essential to study the effectiveness of the patent pool which depends on the number of essential and complementary patents licensed in the pool. This paper uses patent analytics to study the effect of the interoperability of standards in the industry. The authors have observed that joint licensing models between telecommunications and automotive industries can be more effective with the use of patent pools. The authors have discussed a comprehensive framework to incorporate patent pools, to accommodate incentives given to the standard essential patent holder while also maintaining the innovation capabilities of the industry.