On World Intellectual Property Day, reflecting on the cycle of innovation – and how to protect it

Today, April 26, is World Intellectual Property Day. And while we at Ericsson like to celebrate the importance of intellectual property to our company, and the telecommunications industry in general every day, today is a wonderful opportunity to step back and reflect on how IP underpins so many of the technologies and comforts we enjoy everyday.

Mobile wireless technology has seen innovation at an extremely rapid pace – and consumers and businesses have benefited. But that high-speed development, from 1G to 5G, from calls and SMS to video and immersive mixed reality, didn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of decades-long investment by Ericsson and others to develop mobile standards and IP upon which the networks and devices of the wireless world are built.

By the numbers: An innovation leader

Ericsson has been a leader in developing these standards since the beginning. On World Intellectual Property Day, there are a few facts and figures that I’m particularly proud of:

·???????Thanks to Ericsson’s priority investment in R&D, the company has the industry’s leading patent portfolio, with more than 60,000 granted patents.

·???????We invest 18% of global revenue in research and development, and there are 27,400 Ericsson employees around the world working in R&D.

·???????Our landmark 5G Foundation Patent features the work of 130 inventors and was filed in 130 countries.

·???????We are 4th in the European Patent Office’s list of top patent filers for 2021, and 8th?in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s list.

Of course, with patents and IP, it’s not just about quantity but quality. This is particularly critical when it comes to assessing 5G leadership, where some patents are declared as potentially “essential” to the standard.

·???????When an IP law firm looked at 5G patent declarations in 2021 and applied an essentiality filter they found that Ericsson was in the top spot with 19%. No other company had more than 12%.

The ‘virtuous cycle’ must be protected

These standards and patents are a critical part of the virtuous cycle of innovation that drives the exponential growth of cellular technology. If that cycle is ever broken, the development of new technology will grind to a halt.

It’s important to remember IP in telecommunications works a little different than in other fields, where companies direct resources to R&D to develop a proprietary product. When it comes to cellular technology, Ericsson and other innovators create these standards with the express intention of making them available to all, to be iterated upon and to create additional value.

Fair and reasonable licensing fees for that shared technology allows inventors to re-invest in the next generation, pushing the cycle forward. Licenses from 4G paved the way for the development of 5G, and those licenses will bring us 6G, and so on.

On World Intellectual Property Day, I take pride in being part of a company that’s contributed so much to the standards and technology driving value for consumers and corporations alike. But I also think about how there exists a cycle of R&D investment, IP protection, and licensing, that drives that progress – and how important it is to keep that cycle moving forward.

To learn more about Ericsson’s work in IP, visit: https://www.ericsson.com/en/patents