Computer supported comparative analysis of technology portfolios for LTE-A patent pools

With the rapid development of LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) mobile communication technology, companies continue to file for new patents or obtain licenses from patent assignees to secure the right to use LTE-A related intellectual properties (IPs) for product commercialization. There are many standard essential patents (SEPs) complying with LTE-A specifications set by the third generation partnership project (3GPP). LTE-A patent pools are collaborative efforts to gather SEPs from IP owners to reduce the process time of SEP licensing for manufacturers. This research develops the computer supported analysis process for the comparative study of two major LTE-A patent pools (i.e., Sisvel and Via Licensing). The first step is to search the ETSI database for LTE-A SEPs. The second step analyzes the patents in both pools based on IPC classification and LTE-A ontology definition. The main goal of the research is to reveal the patent profiles of LTE-A patent pools for collaborative and collective SEP licensing, which enables LTE-A technology developers and adopters (such as mobile device manufacturers) to fully cooperate in new product development and commercialization efficiently and economically.