Patent Filings Reveal a Growing Interest in IoT
Networking Intellectual Property for the IoT
Patents in the following top three categories are for both wired and wireless technologies: Resource Management: 2,669 patents filed (of these, 2,201 were filed in the last five years), Communication Protocols: 2,212 patents filed, Topology Management: 1,676 patents filed
Computing Intellectual Property
Information Retrieval: 984 patents filed (377 patent filings in the last five years), Image Processing: 671 patents filed, Data Security: 628 patents filed
Control Systems, Circuits and Sensors
Control Systems lead with 980 patents filed. Circuits followed with 893 and sensors with 277. In the last five years, 700 patents were filed in the Control Systems field.
Top Five Patent Assignees
The companies that filed the most IoT patents were: LG: 482 patents, Ericson: 404, Qualcomm: 301, KT Corporation: 160, Nokia: 158
Patents Filed by Region
Besides the United States, extensive patent filing is happening in China, South Korea, Canada, Taiwan and Japan. That indicates high-end research and development in IoT in these countries.
Chinese Investment in IoT IP
China plans to invest $750 million in the IoT by 2015. The Chengdu Internet of Things Technology Institute in Sichuan Province is developing a “health care capsule.”
Competitive Positioning
Looking at the split between granted patents and applications, Somfy leads with most of its portfolio containing granted patents. In contrast, LG, which started filing patents relatively late, occupies the bottom of this list.
Scope of Patents
Examining the extent to which a portfolio covers various aspects of the technology, the report found that Interdigital has the broadest claims in its portfolio. Microsoft, which has the narrowest portfolio, is at the bottom.
Citations for Portfolios
One measure of the value of intellectual property is how often patents are cited in the industry. Microsoft and Interdigital are at the top, holding large forward citations. KT Corporation, however, is at the bottom with the lowest number of forward citations.
Qualitative Measure of Patents
Using a quality score (LexScore) based on grants versus applications, claim broadness, citations score, etc., the study found that Qualcomm is a potential market leader, whereas even though LG has the highest overall score, it has a low patent quality score.
