Samsung Electronics joins Avanci 4G vehicle licensing programme

Avanci has announced electronics giant Samsung as its newest licensor, after the Korean company signed an agreement to join the patent pool’s Avanci Vehicle 4G, Avanci Aftermarket and Avanci Broadcast licensing programmes. The latest development grants Avanci’s existing 80 automotive company licensees access to Samsung’s 2G, 3G and 4G patented technology. It is also the first time that the Korean company has joined a cellular patent pool. However, Avanci has not yet clarified its plans with regard to its automotive 5G programme.

Kasim Alfalahi is founder and chief executive officer at Avanci. In a press release, he says, “We are delighted to welcome Samsung Electronics as an Avanci licensor. This announcement reinforces the broad industry enthusiasm for the Avanci model and adds value for existing and future licensees at no additional cost to them.

We look forward to working with Samsung Electronics and our other partners on efficient licensing solutions for today and in the future.”

Avanci and Samsung pursue partnership

Avanci’s rapid licensee growth means that the patent pool now acts as a platform for the majority of global car brands. In September 2022, Avanci announced that 14 new licensees had joined its automotive programme, including well-known Asian and European suppliers such as Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Renault and Stellantis. These additions mean that Avanci now has 80 car manufacturers participating in its offering, with the programme licensing over 100 million vehicles. Now, all members are licensed to use Samsung’s SEP technology for their connected vehicles.

In February 2023, Avanci launched Avanci Aftermarket, which offers licences for connected products installed in vehicles after their original sale. Its growth continued in March 2023, when the patent pool also launched Avanci Broadcast, which it describes as a “patent licensing platform for the ATSC 3.0 broadcasting standard”. The platform, which hosts television and set-top box manufacturers that implement the ATSC 3.0 broadcasting standard, aims to streamline the licensing of ATSC 3.0 essential technologies.

The new platform involves companies such as ETRI, LG Electronics, ONE Media, Panasonic, Samsung Electronics, Sharp and Sun Patent Trust. Avanci Broadcast is a new venture for the patent pool, which previously focused mainly on automotive licensing and connected car technology.

Involved with SEPs

Several recent developments concerning SEPs and implementation patents have involved Samsung. For example, in early 2021, Ericsson filed four lawsuits against the company in Germany, as well as two suits in Belgium and the Netherlands. In all European lawsuits, Ericsson claimed infringement of so-called implementation patents. Samsung counterclaimed in Europe, after Ericsson brought SEP proceedings in the US and China.

Furthermore, in January 2023, Nokia and Samsung announced the conclusion of discussions over a new 5G patent licence. The two companies agreed to extend their cross-licensing agreement, which expired at the end of 2022 after four years.

Samsung also has form in belonging to previous patent pools. The company was a member of the MPEG LA patent pool until 2020, when its contract as both licensee and licensor ended. Then, in April 2022, MPEG LA sued the mobile phone giant’s German subsidiary, Samsung Electronics GmbH, at Düsseldorf Regional Court. MPEG LA accused the subsidiary of infringing three patents from its HEVC programme.

Looking to the future

Since leaving MPEG LA, the Korean company has joined rival pool Access Advance, which has also maintained an HEVC licensing programme since 2015. However, standard essential patents are currently the hot topic. For example, the European Commission’s draft proposal to impose mandatory essentiality checks on patent holders was recently leaked to several media outlets.

The patent market awaits the commission’s formal disclosure at the end of April. Meanwhile, however, patent lawyers are busy debating the merits of such an approach. From some perspectives, companies such as Samsung, which holds large numbers of SEPs, joining a patent pool means it is contributing towards a more efficient licensing process. The EUIPO says it is also trying to achieve this via its proposals. Critics, however, say the move could strangle innovation and negatively impact SMEs.