Nokia number one in granted essential 5G patents

Connectivity technologies continue to transform the way we live and work as 5G becomes mainstream, fuelling economic growth, enabling digital health care, and helping to address climate change.

I’m proud of the role Nokia plays in powering this next wave in the digital revolution. For more than 30 years, we have defined fundamental technologies used in virtually all mobile devices and taken a leadership role in technology standards setting. As a result, we have been ranked among the top in several independent third-party studies for our 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G patents that have been declared essential for cellular standards.

The study by PA Consulting is just the latest example. It concluded that Nokia is No.1 for ownership of granted patents that the researchers found essential to the 5G Standard.* The study is significant, because to make its assessment of the 5G patent landscape, PA Consulting conducted a technical analysis of the declared and granted standard essential patents, instead of simply relying on patent holders’ own raw patent declaration numbers.

This is an important point. We invest over €4bn a year in R&D, filing patent applications on more than 1,300 new inventions this year, with a portfolio of around 20,000 patent families (each family being composed of several individual patents), including more than 3,500 patent families for 5G.

But assessing the strength of patent portfolios is much more than just a numbers game, because some patents are more valuable than others. You need to look at the quality of the patents. And then, while litigation is always our last resort, you sometimes, where necessary, prove the value of your inventions through the legal system. Something that Nokia has successfully accomplished over many years, and again this year, with milestone judgments on the use of our technology in cars and consumer electronics.

So the next time you see someone shouting about the size of their portfolio, remember to also ask them about the quality of its contents. And if you would like to learn more about our patent portfolio take a look at our new interactive innovations gallery which showcases a selection of 13,000 patented inventions from Nokia’s much bigger portfolio. You can browse through thirty years of innovation and learn more about our inventions.

* Reference to a study in this blog post does not equate to Nokia’s unreserved endorsement.