The finding is based on the “Results of Research on Telecom Technology Patent Trends and Patent Litigation Analysis” study, released on April 8 by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO).

The report stated that Samsung accounts for 12.7 percent (954 in total) of the LTE/LTE-A SEPs owned by 66 telecommunications businesses around the world.

The study was conducted over the course of three years by 35 experts, including patent attorneys, professors, and others from the National Applied Research Laboratory, a Taiwanese government-owned institution. The study chose and analyzed 7,516 U.S. patents related to LTE and LTE-A, which were declared as SEPs (Standard Essential Patents) to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

Samsung was also ranked No. 1 in the 2015 report, which surveyed 43 telecommunications businesses.

With the LTE patents portfolio, Samsung is expected to be an industry leader in the area of 5G technology.

ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute)
ETSI produces global standards for Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), including fixed, mobile, radio, aeronautical, broadcast and internet technologies, and is officially recognized by the European Union as a European Standards Organization.

The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) recently ranked Samsung Electronics No. 1 among industry peers for possessing the largest number of 4G LTE/LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) standard-essential patents (SEP). The ranking is based on a two-year- study by the TIPO, which culminated in a report titled, ‘2014 Results of Research on Telecom Technology Patent Trends and Patent Litigation Analysis.’

TIPO analyzed approximately 6,200 4G LTE/LTE-A related patents filed before the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), focusing on SEPs that were essential to the 4G LTE/LTE-A standards. Samsung SEPs accounted for 17% of the 3,600 4G LTE/LTE-A SEPs owned by the 35 companies that were assessed.

“Through our relentless R&D efforts, our standard-essential patents have contributed to shaping the standards that have guided the evolution of the mobile telecommunications industry.” said Heungmo Lee, Senior Vice President and the Head of IP Prosecution Team, Digital Media & Communications R&D Center, Samsung Electronics.

Samsung has a long history of advancing mobile telecommunications technology. In 1998, Samsung first joined standardization organizations for mobile telecommunications technology, such as 3GPP. In 2001, the company won an important seat in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project.

With regards to 4G LTE mobile telecommunications technology, Samsung pursued the ambitious goal of establishing a leadership position in this area. To this end, Samsung developed telecommunications solutions and mobile devices while simultaneously conducting extensive R&D to strengthen the competitiveness of the company’s standardization efforts. As a result, Samsung was able to release the industry’s first commercial products and services embedded with LTE/LTE-A technology, as evidenced by the LTE dongle in 2009, Voice over LTE (VoLTE) service in 2012 and Carrier Aggregation technology in 2013.