Unlocking patent value: investing for the future in mobile telecomms
Matt Brocklehurst
Thomson Scientific
October 2005
Innovation is the key to increasing profitability and retaining market share in the highly competitive world of mobile communications. Only those companies that innovate will withstand the threat of competition from companies with lower cost bases. A new market report from Bristol York, the investment banking and advisory firm. examines patent data from Thomson Scientific to show how a sophisticated patent strategy can build lasting success and continued growth.
Introduction
Patent analysis is the best way to tell which companies are maintaining an innovative edge and protecting future revenues, as patents are the primary way an innovative company can protect its future revenues. Patents are internationally defendable and help ensure that a company with a strong bias towards innovation will maintain a strong market presence and a good return for its investors. Patent data are a key indicator of the innovative nature of a company and how it uses its R&D budget to drive shareholder value.
As well as protecting innovation, patents can also tell the history — and future — of a product, and show how ideas can build on other ideas to create further innovation. For instance, the mobile phone we know today is an amalgam of a series of evolutionary innovations in the area of antennas, keyboards, operating systems, screen technology and battery technology. One of the most telling illustrations of the financial and strategic returns possible from patenting is the Qualcomm story. In 1990 Qualcomm, a then little known company, filed a patent in the area of mobile network technology which spawned an entire mobile industry and made this US company a global phenomenon.
This new report from Bristol York, published October 2005, examines patent data from Derwent World Patents Index on mobile telecommunications in detail. The report shows how R&D expenditure allocations, and more specifically a sophisticated patent strategy, can build lasting success and continued growth. The report concentrates on two core areas:
- Mobile handset technology
- Mobile infrastructure technology
The report is packed with industry, patenting and financial facts. It examines the major players in mobile telecommunications, the choice of technologies, and the present and future markets for these technologies – including the likely future role of China. The report is illustrated throughout with charts, tables and future predictions, making it a “must-read” publication for those innovating or investing in new technologies.
Contents of the report
1. Introduction
1.1 About Bristol York
1.2 Special Thanks to Thomson Scientific
1.3 About the Authors
1.4 The Value of Patents
1.5 Patent Citation Analysis2. Mobile Industry Overview
3. An Introduction to 3G, 3.5G and Beyond
3.1 3.5G, 4G & Hybrid Networks
3.2 Which 3G Technology Will Prevail
3.3 WCDMA Technology Path
3.4 CDMA2000 Technology Path
3.5 TD-SCDMA Technology Path
3.6 Wi-Max Technology Path4. Mobile Technology — Infrastructure
4.1 Market Shares5. Mobile Technology — Handsets
5.1 Integrated Handsets
5.2 Handset Form Factor & Power Usage
5.3 Dual Mode Handsets
5.4 Burden of Royalties6. Valuation Overview
7. Company Profiles & Valuations
8. Patenting For Success — The Major Players
8.1 Qualcomm
8.2 InterDigital Technology
8.3 ZTE
8.4 Ericsson
8.5 LG Electronics
8.6 NEC
8.7 Nokia
8.8 Siemens
8.9 Samsung
8.10 Motorola
8.11 Lucent
8.12 Nortel9. Conclusions
Additional information
Free Executive Summary of this report
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