Author: Zhou Yanpeng, Xu Linong Time: 31.01.2013
From the layout of core patents for mobile communication technology standards by Qualcomm and InterDigital, it can be seen that the layout of factual technology standards for intellectual property requires prior understanding of the correlation between the corresponding industries, products, technological structures, and factual technology standards. This serves as the basis for planning research and development resources, investment and acquisition targets, and intellectual property layout, in order to master core technologies and their corresponding intellectual property. Only through the formulation of factual technology standards can advantageous industry positioning be established, innovation compensation periods be extended, and diverse benefits be obtained.
Standard core intellectual property has long been a very important competitive tool for technology companies. However, most enterprises on both sides of the Taiwan Strait often lack mastery of emerging technologies in their respective industries, and their R&D investment and intellectual property layout are relatively late, resulting in a situation of being at the mercy of others. Enterprises on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should timely understand and familiarize themselves with the methods and game rules of technology leadership, enterprise layout, factual technical standards, and core intellectual property, in order to have the opportunity to compete for factual technical standards and core intellectual property as technological laggards.
Starting from the proposal of technical specifications, card position facts, technical standards, patents
In terms of technology, the core patents of factual technical standards are often highly related to the technical specifications of factual technical standards, that is, the scope of rights of core patents covers technical specifications. Taking mobile communication technology standards as an example, especially RF technology and communication protocols, transmission signals and data structures are defined by technical specifications.
When developing technological solutions for enterprises, they not only lay out intellectual property, but also prepare technical specification proposals, attempting to incorporate their own proposal content into factual technical standards. Once the technical proposal is adopted, the degree of similarity between the patent specification and the technical specification is quite high, and the scope of rights is the higher-level concept of the corresponding specification in the technical specification. This high degree of correlation also facilitates the technical leadership enterprise to provide evidence and claim the core patent of the technical standard in litigation.
For example, in 2007, InterDigital filed a patent infringement case against Samsung Electronics with the International Trade Commission (ITC) in the United States (ITC case number 337-TA-601), which included US Patent No. 6674791.
This patent was submitted to the European Telecommunications Standards Association by InterDigital in 2004 and declared as a core patent for the UMTS technology standard. In the European Telecommunications Technical Specification TS 125.211, the specifications for the Physical Channel of the UMTS communication system, especially the standard for the preamble code of the Dedicated Physical Data Channel (DPDCH) and Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), cannot be separated from the scope of this patent, and the corresponding product coverage covers the subscriber units that adopt this technology.
In the lawsuit, InterDigital produced an investigation report based on the specifications of the technical specifications for the controversial Samsung product, established the correlation between the product and the technical specifications, and explained the upper concept text of the scope of rights through the definition and description of the technical specifications as evidence of product infringement.
The core focus of factual technical standards is to maximize industrial coverage
In terms of product coverage, the core intellectual property layout of factual technical standards should cover all product types related to factual technical standards in terms of systems, modules, and components, achieving maximum industry coverage. It can also be further expanded based on product and market evolution through Continuation Applications (CA) and Continuation In Part Applications (CIP) to cover new generation products or other product lines, maintaining the optimal combination of factual technical standard core intellectual property.
Taking the core patents and their patent families of mobile communication standards as an example, technology leading enterprises often cover all services, systems, modules, and components related to factual technical standards with various protected objects. For example, RF technology related patents or their patent families often involve the process steps of both the transmitter and receiver, and can further cover RF circuits, communication chipsets, terminal devices, base stations, and access networks with different protected objects. If it involves core networks or application services, the intellectual property portfolio needs to further cover core network related equipment and its module components, and even include communication networks, communication systems, and communication services.
Among them, taking US Patent No. 6674791 and its US Patent Family Patents No. 5991329 and 6873645 as examples, the US Patent No. 6674791 is the patent involved in the aforementioned ITC lawsuit. InterDigital first applied for a Provisional Patent Application in the United States in 1995, and filed for a patent in 1996. In 1999, it was published as US Patent No. 5991329, covering communication stations and control methods.
InterDigital applied for a CA in 1999, but was deemed abandoned due to procedural issues. In 2001, it reapplied for a CA and published it as US Patent No. 6873645 in 2005, covering terminal devices and Base Radio Carrier Stations (RCS). Subsequently, InterDigital applied for CA in 2002, with the scope of rights covering terminal devices and control methods. Therefore, US Patent No. 5991329 extends the scope of rights from communication stations and base stations to terminal devices through the patent family through two CAs, and is further used to file lawsuits against terminal device manufacturers such as Samsung to claim rights.
At the industry level, the core intellectual property of factual technology standards should not only focus on the upstream, midstream, and downstream layout of the industry, but also clarify the applicability of factual technology standards in different regions, and adjust the global intellectual property layout in conjunction with the company’s main production and sales regions and intellectual property business models.
Taking mobile communication technology standards as an example, different countries and telecom operators adopt different technology standards, which in turn derive different next-generation technology standards due to compatibility with existing infrastructure. Technology leading enterprises often master the core technologies common to different technology standards and carry out global intellectual property layout in their main production and sales areas or the main production and sales areas of potential patent authorization objects.
Including Qualcomm and InterDigital, most of its global patent families cover its major markets. For example, Qualcomm’s patent family includes not only the domestic market in the United States, but also major markets such as mainland China, Europe, India, Japan, South Korea, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and South America; As of 2012, InterDigital has also deployed LTE standard core patents in 33 countries worldwide, with over 100 LTE standard core patents deployed in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Germany, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, and the United States to support its global patent licensing business and activities.
Competition for factual technical standards requires determination to continuously invest resources
As mentioned earlier, with the diffusion of disruptive innovative technologies in the industrial chain, peripheral supporting technologies will also form mature technical solutions and cross the market gap. The new generation of factual technical standards will gradually replace existing technical solutions and quickly drive them into the long-term market through product technology generational changes. If enterprises on both sides of the Taiwan Strait want to establish advantageous industrial positioning, extend innovation compensation periods, and obtain diversified benefits by leveraging factual technical standards and core intellectual property, they need to not only master core technologies and make good use of methods, but also have the determination to continuously invest various resources.
Specifically, before establishing factual technical standards, businesses should pay attention to the following items:
1、 Need to master the development context of the industry’s technical solutions, grasp the core technologies of factual technical standards, simulate the development of corresponding industries, products, technical structures, and technical solutions;
2、 Need to master various dynamic information of the industry structure, including joint research and development, industry alliances, technical standards, patents, authorizations, investments, mergers and acquisitions, and combine factual technical standards with core technology related industries, products, and technical structures;
3、 Based on the above understanding, invest in research and development resources, mergers and acquisitions, and layout of intellectual property;
In the process of formulating factual technical standards, practitioners should pay attention to:
1、 Need to master the products and technical structures involved in the technical standards, as well as the relationship between technical specifications and products and technical structures;
2、 It is necessary to master the industrial structure and dynamic information of the technical standards involved, as well as the technical solutions of the industry, academia, and research parties involved in standard formulation, in order to summarize the development path of product technology, fully define the position of each technical specification in the technical standards involved in the product and technical structure, and adjust research and development resources, alliance partners, and investment and acquisition targets;
3、 It is necessary to use the product technology structure model of Intelligent Resource Planning (IRP) to master the layout of intellectual property involved in the formulation of technical standards for industry, academia, and research, summarize the intellectual property layout of various technical solutions, and plan, execute, and adjust the core intellectual property layout of factual technical standards;
After the release of factual technical standards, operators should also pay attention to:
1、 With the evolution of factual technical standards, it is necessary to grasp the relationship between each technical specification update standard and the corresponding product and technical structure, and continuously improve the combination of intellectual property;
2、 With the diffusion of factual technical standards in the industry, it is necessary to continuously grasp the technical standards adopted by various industry members and production and sales regions, and adjust the global layout of intellectual property;
3、 It is necessary to continuously grasp the dynamic information related to factual technical standards and changes in industrial structure, in order to plan and implement smart property marketing and business models.
