Huawei’s 5G Patent Ranks First Globally and Apple Ranks 12th

According to the latest report from patent research firm LexisNexis IPlytics, cited by LightReading, the relevance of 5G technology in various industries has sharply increased, leading to more and more companies establishing 5G patent portfolios. Statistical data shows that the number of companies with 5G patent families has increased from 32 in 2015 to 131 in 2023.

LexisNexis IPlytics points out that compared to previous generations of wireless technology, 5G has faster data speed, lower latency, larger capacity, such as large-scale MIMO, improved spectral efficiency, and introduced new concepts such as network slicing or beamforming. Therefore, compared to 3G or 4G generations, 5G is a much more complex technology.
Between 2017 and 2023, the number of 5G patent families declared globally increased tenfold, reaching over 60000, almost 2.5 times the 24000 patent families declared in 4G. LexisNexis IPlytics stated that the 5G SEP (Standard Basic Patent) licensing market will become one of the most profitable markets, not only in terms of royalties, but also in maintaining a leading position in the increasingly competitive industrial value chain. Therefore, the 5G patent competition is more competitive than ever before, as countries compete for technological leadership in key technologies, which will have geopolitical implications.

From the perspective of 5G patent application agencies, Huawei ranks first globally, followed closely by Qualcomm, Samsung, Ericsson, and Nokia. Apple ranks 12th.
In addition, in terms of the Internet of Things, NB IoT has the largest patent family, with a sharp increase in the number of patent families over the past 10 years, reaching nearly 20000, followed by LTE-M and LTE Cat 1. LexisNexis IPlytics points out that Huawei, Samsung, ZTE, Qualcomm, and Nokia are leading patent holders of NB IoT technology.