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South Korea

Microsoft and LG Electronics announce auto tech deal after December patent transfer

The companies renewed their cross-licence over the summer. Patent assignments last month and a new technology partnership show there is plenty of opportunity for the two to collaborate

Microsoft and LG Electronics announce auto tech deal after December patent transfer
4 Jan 2019

All the major China IP stories you missed over the holidays

Retrial ordered in Huawei v InterDigital; Apple representatives threatened with detention in continuing injunction flap; national IP appeals court opens doors and much more from the Middle Kingdom

18 Dec 2018

Huawei vs Samsung conflict is about more than patents

As the pair duke it out in an SEP licensing dispute, the Korean company's chipmaking division fears crucial trade secrets have already made their way to Shenzhen

Latest

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17 Dec 2018

Korea adopts treble damages in bid to curb “technology extortion”  

National Assembly approves Patent Law amendments to impose punitive damages and lower the burden of proof for rights holders Read more

26 Nov 2018

Huawei acquires patents from firm run by former Pantech IP head

Seoul-based Innovative Technology Lab transferred 20 telecom-related patents to the Chinese company last month. A common inventor links the portfolio to some of the Pantech patents acquired by Apple earlier this year.  Read more

5 Nov 2018

Korean patent fund fuels more US NPE suits with latest disposals

Intellectual Discovery has transferred auto and LED portfolios in recent weeks; both have spurred assertions in Delaware - increasingly the number one venue for US plaintiffs post-TC Heartland  Read more

27 Sep 2018

Patents in Asia 2018/2019: South Korea

Top legal experts in South Korea provide an exclusive insight into the country’s patent prosecution and litigation strategy for 2018 Read more

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Designs

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28 Jun 2018

A timeline of Apple v Samsung and why the smartphone wars aren’t over yet

The sprawling patent battle that was arguably the central conflict of the smartphone wars, came to an end as the pair announced that they had reached a settlement. We re-visit all of the key events in the seven year struggle. Read more

Finance

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19 Jul 2018

Despite Samsung settlement management of former BlackBerry patents changes hands

Earlier this week a judge in the Eastern District of Texas officially dismissed the lawsuit between Samsung and Fundamental Innovation Systems International (FISI) after the pair settled their dispute. FISI had accused the tech giant of infringing… Read more

3 Nov 2017

Samsung Electronics scoops up nearly 500 patent assets from defunct US search startup

With a valuation of just over $600 million, Quixey was not quite a unicorn, but it is one of the biggest Silicon Valley startups to go out of business thus far in 2017. The Mountain View-based developer of mobile search platforms and digital… Read more

2 Nov 2017

Intellectual Discovery plans sale of its venture capital unit later this year

Korean patent fund Intellectual Discovery (ID) is seeking a buyer for its subsidiary ID Ventures, according to the company’s website. IAM understands the fund is weighing multiple offers already, and just one week remains before the bidding deadline… Read more

8 May 2017

Venture branch of Korean patent fund notches another profitable year and looks to broaden its scope

The venture capital arm of Korean patent fund operator Intellectual Discovery recorded another profitable year in 2016, according to an annual financial disclosure. The firm also has a new fund in the works that will take it beyond the technology… Read more

FRAND/SEPS

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31 Jul 2018

LG Electronics settles with Ericsson as it ramps up its own assertion effort

New global cross-licence ends a four month-long US litigation case. In the meantime, LG is becoming more aggressive with its own patent portfolio, as evidenced by recent enforcement efforts. Read more

12 Apr 2018

Both the largest and strongest portfolio in the world: an exclusive analysis of Samsung’s patent assets

In the IAM/ktMINE US Patent 100, published in issue 89 of IAM, we revealed that Samsung owns by far the largest US patent portfolio. Now, new research conducted for IAM shows that the Korean conglomerate not only has the largest portfolio in the… Read more

23 Mar 2018

SIPO knocks out audio patent owned by state-affiliated entity, ending SEP campaign against Samsung

China’s patent office has dealt a blow to a local SEP developer that last year kicked off an assertion campaign against major television manufacturers in Chinese courts. On February 28th, the Patent Reexamination Board (PRB) of China’s State… Read more

14 Dec 2017

Korea FTC defends scope of Qualcomm penalties as US judge warns of antitrust “race to the bottom”

Of the recent competition rulings against Qualcomm, Korea’s seem to have gone the furthest in imposing global remedies on the chipmaker’s licensing practices. At a recent forum on antitrust extraterritoriality, Judge Douglas Ginsburg of the US Court… Read more

Law & Policy

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17 Sep 2018

Patent controversy embroils South Korean biotech claiming key CRISPR IP

Questions emerge about whether ToolGen properly acquired foundational gene editing patents, and how much government support founder Kim Jin-soo received for his breakthrough invention. Read more

20 Jul 2018

China and South Korea will displace the West as the world’s innovation leaders by 2029

New report claims status of US, EU and UK as leading innovators under threat as they struggle to maximise return on R&D investment.  Read more

18 Jun 2018

$400m verdict against Samsung a milestone for Korean university, but just the beginning of the battle

Blockbuster payout in keenly watched case concerns infringement of a single patent relating to semiconductor manufacturing process.   Read more

15 May 2018

Upsurge in US patent assertions by South Korean entities is driven entirely by SMEs

Last month this blog reported on Firstface, an apparent NPE headquartered in Seoul which recently brought patent infringement complaints against both Apple and Samsung in the United States. A new set of statistics released by the Korean Intellectual… Read more

Litigation

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14 Sep 2018

High stakes validity battle in South Korea makes strange bedfellows of Apple and Samsung

University that scored $400m Samsung verdict in the United States is now asking Korean ITC equivalent to ban iPhone imports. Read more

30 Aug 2018

SK Hynix bolsters patent holdings, buying two portfolios

Korean chipmaker turns to HP Enterprise and Integrated Device Technology as its US patent risks escalate Read more

13 Aug 2018

ETRI exclusive licence deals signal two new campaigns to monetise its US patent holdings

South Korean research institute is working with two separate licensing entities, one of which has already filed cases. A previous effort faltered  last year when a judge ruled ETRI's exclusive licensees lacked standing to sue. Read more

3 Aug 2018

Former Huawei patent ends up in litigation against Microsoft and Samsung

Microsoft and Samsung were both sued earlier this week in the Eastern District of Texas over the alleged infringement of a patent owned by the NPE Altair Logix. The patent in question relates to semiconductor technology and was also asserted last… Read more

Market Developments

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20 Jul 2018

China and South Korea will displace the West as the world’s innovation leaders by 2029

New report claims status of US, EU and UK as leading innovators under threat as they struggle to maximise return on R&D investment.  Read more

5 Jul 2018

Samsung on top for 3D integrated circuit patents, as growth shifts east

The US leads by number of applications for three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D IC) patents but it is set to be overtaken by Asia if current growth trends continue, an exclusive analysis for IAM has revealed.  Meanwhile, Samsung dominates in… Read more

7 Jun 2018

Two separate Sisvel deals with Samsung push the firm ever-closer to the big leagues

Sisvel has announced two deals with Samsung that confirm the IP mangement and licensing platform’s continued progress into the top division of the patent monetisation space. Not only has the Korean giant agreed to take a royalty-bearing licence to a… Read more

17 May 2018

Nokia’s Alcatel acquisition has made it a top player in the IoT space, but Samsung is the clear leader

An exclusive new study commissioned by IAM has revealed that Nokia’s merger with Alcatel-Lucent means it is now one of the leading players in the Internet of Things (IoT) domain. However, Samsung has the dominant position in the field, with second… Read more

Non practising entities

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13 Aug 2018

ETRI exclusive licence deals signal two new campaigns to monetise its US patent holdings

South Korean research institute is working with two separate licensing entities, one of which has already filed cases. A previous effort faltered  last year when a judge ruled ETRI's exclusive licensees lacked standing to sue. Read more

3 Aug 2018

Former Huawei patent ends up in litigation against Microsoft and Samsung

Microsoft and Samsung were both sued earlier this week in the Eastern District of Texas over the alleged infringement of a patent owned by the NPE Altair Logix. The patent in question relates to semiconductor technology and was also asserted last… Read more

19 Jul 2018

Despite Samsung settlement management of former BlackBerry patents changes hands

Earlier this week a judge in the Eastern District of Texas officially dismissed the lawsuit between Samsung and Fundamental Innovation Systems International (FISI) after the pair settled their dispute. FISI had accused the tech giant of infringing… Read more

26 Jun 2018

South Korea’s MagnaChip back in monetisation mode, spinning former Hynix patents to WiLAN

WiLAN announced yesterday that it has acquired a patent portfolio totaling over 85 assets from Seoul-based MagnaChip Semiconductor. The transaction is part of WiLAN’s partnership programme. The deal marks the latest in a steady stream of… Read more

Patent pools

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9 Apr 2018

Top Korean university expands assertion campaign against Apple; rethinks patent pool strategy

A recent announcement by the HEVC Advance patent pool names the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) as one of a handful of new members from that country. The news comes just a few months after the top national polytechnic… Read more

Strategy

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13 Aug 2018

ETRI exclusive licence deals signal two new campaigns to monetise its US patent holdings

South Korean research institute is working with two separate licensing entities, one of which has already filed cases. A previous effort faltered  last year when a judge ruled ETRI's exclusive licensees lacked standing to sue. Read more

3 Aug 2018

Former Huawei patent ends up in litigation against Microsoft and Samsung

Microsoft and Samsung were both sued earlier this week in the Eastern District of Texas over the alleged infringement of a patent owned by the NPE Altair Logix. The patent in question relates to semiconductor technology and was also asserted last… Read more

19 Jul 2018

Despite Samsung settlement management of former BlackBerry patents changes hands

Earlier this week a judge in the Eastern District of Texas officially dismissed the lawsuit between Samsung and Fundamental Innovation Systems International (FISI) after the pair settled their dispute. FISI had accused the tech giant of infringing… Read more

26 Jun 2018

South Korea’s MagnaChip back in monetisation mode, spinning former Hynix patents to WiLAN

WiLAN announced yesterday that it has acquired a patent portfolio totaling over 85 assets from Seoul-based MagnaChip Semiconductor. The transaction is part of WiLAN’s partnership programme. The deal marks the latest in a steady stream of… Read more

Technology licensing

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17 Sep 2018

Patent controversy embroils South Korean biotech claiming key CRISPR IP

Questions emerge about whether ToolGen properly acquired foundational gene editing patents, and how much government support founder Kim Jin-soo received for his breakthrough invention. Read more

13 Aug 2018

ETRI exclusive licence deals signal two new campaigns to monetise its US patent holdings

South Korean research institute is working with two separate licensing entities, one of which has already filed cases. A previous effort faltered  last year when a judge ruled ETRI's exclusive licensees lacked standing to sue. Read more

31 Jul 2018

LG Electronics settles with Ericsson as it ramps up its own assertion effort

New global cross-licence ends a four month-long US litigation case. In the meantime, LG is becoming more aggressive with its own patent portfolio, as evidenced by recent enforcement efforts. Read more

26 Jun 2018

South Korea’s MagnaChip back in monetisation mode, spinning former Hynix patents to WiLAN

WiLAN announced yesterday that it has acquired a patent portfolio totaling over 85 assets from Seoul-based MagnaChip Semiconductor. The transaction is part of WiLAN’s partnership programme. The deal marks the latest in a steady stream of… Read more

Trademarks

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15 Nov 2016

Samsung’s $8 billion Harman acquisition is another major play in the auto sector’s patent market

Samsung Electronics’ $8 billion acquisition of Harman, which was announced yesterday, is not only the Korean tech giant’s largest purchase but is also another play in the rapidly evolving automotive technology market. As well as giving Samsung a… Read more

30 Aug 2016

A closer look at Korea’s latest IP trade results shows they aren’t quite as optimistic as initial reports suggest

IAM has followed the saga of South Korea’s negative IP rights receipts for some time now. While Korean media reports on the latest figures from the country’s central bank suggest that the deficit is gradually being chipped away, there are a couple… Read more

Trade secrets

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30 Aug 2018

SK Hynix bolsters patent holdings, buying two portfolios

Korean chipmaker turns to HP Enterprise and Integrated Device Technology as its US patent risks escalate Read more

1 Jun 2018

Data sheds much-needed light on the trade secrets litigation landscape

New figures from litigation data provider Lex Machina show strong take-up following 2016's Defend Trade Secrets Act. More than 70% of trade secrets cases resolved at trial are won by plaintiffs. Read more

Valuation

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16 Apr 2018

Troubled Korean smartphone maker supplies Apple with more US rights

Apple has acquired a portfolio of 27 US patents from Korean smartphone maker Pantech, according to assignment records filed with the USPTO. The transfer follows the iPhone manufacturer’s purchase last summer of a package of 11 patents from Korean… Read more

8 Mar 2018

Pickup of patents from former Yahoo! portfolio is latest acquisition move by Samsung Electronics

Altaba, the holding company that was formed to sell off former Yahoo! assets, has transferred a patent portfolio to Samsung Electronics, in what looks to be its second small-scale disposal. USPTO records show that the transfer was made in late… Read more

1 Mar 2018

Big business risks make narrowing the royalty gap difficult for Korean corporates

South Korea’s deficit in intellectual property rights not only remained in the red in 2017, but widened compared to the 2016, new figures from the Bank of Korea show. But its largest surplus in IP payments was still with China - totalling $ 1.98… Read more

8 May 2017

Venture branch of Korean patent fund notches another profitable year and looks to broaden its scope

The venture capital arm of Korean patent fund operator Intellectual Discovery recorded another profitable year in 2016, according to an annual financial disclosure. The firm also has a new fund in the works that will take it beyond the technology… Read more

Trending

1

Microsoft and LG Electronics announce auto tech deal after December patent transfer

2

Samsung owns the biggest US patent portfolio, beating IBM into second place, new research reveals

3

Korea adopts treble damages in bid to curb “technology extortion”  

4

Huawei acquires patents from firm run by former Pantech IP head

5

All the major China IP stories you missed over the holidays

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Daniel J Slottje
Senior Managing Director
Dallas, TX, United States
FTI Consulting Inc
View full biography
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