What They Say
The Elec reports that Samsung Electronics has been sued in the US for breaching three patents related to wireless charging that were bought by Ireland-based Scramoge Technology from LG Innotek in February. Scramoge is said to be run by a manager from Magnetar Capital which also operates Solas OLED. Solas has been involved in patent disputes with Samsung and LG Display.
What We Think
Separately, there are serious concerns being expressed in Korea about the potential for this kind of action if the IP related to LG Electronics’ smartphone business moves outside Korea, following LG’s decision to exit the smartphone business. The 5G patents are seen as particularly important. The Korea Times reported that LG ” has around 24,000 LTE and 5G standard essential patents” and is said to be the third largest holder of IP related to 5G.
I must say that I can imagine LG using the possible sale of patents as a way of persuading a company like Samsung to pay a bit more than it might want to to acquire the patents, but really the valuation of patent portfolios is outside my area of expertise. (BR)