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The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology recently released the “Research Report on Global 5G Standard Essential Patents and Standard Proposals (2024)”. The report disclosed that as of March 31, 2024, there were more than 114,000 5G standard essential patents declared globally, among which, in Germany Nearly 103,000 patents have been retrieved in Winter’s global patent search database, and there are more than 72,800 effective global patent families expanded by INPADOC.
Among the industrial entities that ETSI declares essential patents for 5G standards, the number of effective global patent families of the top ten companies accounts for more than 71% of the total number of patent families. The 5G standard essential patent activities of the top ten companies basically reflect the main trends in global 5G standard essential patent activities.
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What’s SEP?
Standard Essential Patent (“SEP”) refers to the technology specified in the standard that is within the scope of patent protection and must be implemented when implementing the standard. Sometimes it is also referred to as a standard patent. Among them, standards include international standards, national standards and industry standards, etc.
5G Standards Source
The “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (“3GPP”) is a standardization project established in 1998. It is promoted by organizational partners from major countries and regions around the world. These organizational partners include ETSI in Europe, China CCSA’, South Korea’s TTA, Japan’s ARIB’ and TTC6, the United States’ ATIS? and India’s TSDSI8. The international standards developed by 3GPP are transformed into national or regional standards by these organizational partners. At a meeting held by the International Telecommunication Union-Radiocommunication Working Party (ITU-R WP5D) on July 9, 2020, the 5G standard developed by 3GPP was recognized as the only 5G standard in the world.
Key Statements Enterprises Analysis
Among the 5G global valid patent families, the top ten are Huawei, Qualcomm, LG, Samsung, ZTE, Ericsson, Nokia, Xiaomi, OPPO and Datang. Huawei ranked first with a share of 12.42%, and ZTE ranked fifth with a share of 6.97%. as follows:
Proportion of Effective Global Patent Families | ||
| Rank | TOP10 Patentees | Proportions |
| 1 | Huawei | 12.42% |
| 2 | Qualcomm | 9.43% |
| 3 | LG | 8.25% |
| 4 | Samsung | 8.175 |
| 5 | ZTE | 6.97% |
| 6 | Ericsson | 6.86% |
| 7 | Nokia | 6.69% |
| 8 | Xiaomi | 4.62% |
| 9 | OPPO | 4.36% |
| 10 | Datang | 3.78% |
Date Source: CAICT
Among the effective global patent families, authorized patent families account for 70%. The top ten rankings are as follows:
Proportion of global effective patent family authorizations | ||
| Rank | TOP10 Patentees | Proportions |
| 1 | Huawei | 15.52% |
| 2 | Qualcomm | 9.52% |
| 3 | LG | 8.30% |
| 4 | Samsung | 8.13% |
| 5 | ZTE | 7.05% |
| 6 | Ericsson | 7.01% |
| 7 | Nokia | 6.40% |
| 8 | Xiaomi | 3.00% |
| 9 | OPPO | 5.21% |
| 10 | Datang | 4.48% |
Date Source: CAICT
Statistics of participants
According to the report, the China State Intellectual Property Office, the European Patent Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office are the three offices with the most active 5G patent application activities. In terms of the proportion of enterprises’ authorized patent families in China, the United States and Europe, Huawei, Qualcomm, ZTE, Samsung and OPPO have a higher proportion of patent families authorized by the State Intellectual Property Office of China; Huawei, Qualcomm, Ericsson, Samsung and Nokia have a higher proportion of European patent families. Huawei, Qualcomm, LG, Samsung and Ericsson have a higher proportion of authorized patent families in the US Patent and Trademark Office.
The report also mentioned that the proposal contribution based on the proportion of 5G proposals intuitively reflects the enthusiasm and contribution of enterprises in the 5G standardization process, and also reflects the enterprise’s 5G technology R&D investment and technological innovation strength to a certain extent. The total number of proposals from the top ten participants in terms of proposal contribution accounted for 70.36% of all 5G proposals. Huawei’s 5G proposal contribution was 16.92%, ranking first; Ericsson’s contribution was 13.41%, ranking second, Nokia’s third with 9.76%, and ZTE’s fourth with 6.03%.
Top 10 participants in the proposal contribution | ||
| Rank | TOP10 Patentees | Proportions |
| 1 | Huawei | 16.92% |
| 2 | Ericssom | 16.41% |
| 3 | Nokia | 9.76% |
| 4 | ZTE | 6.03% |
| 5 | Qualcomm | 5.83% |
| 6 | Samsung | 5.45% |
| 7 | Datang | 3.90% |
| 8 | Intel | 3.09% |
| 9 | CMCC | 3.01% |
| 10 | Vivo | 2.96% |
Date Source: CAICT
Expert Recommendation
The technical advantages of Huawei and ZTE are also fully reflected in 5G router products. Its 5G routers have become a high-profile choice in the market due to their ultra-high speed, low latency and wide coverage. Here are some expert recommendations you may be interested in:
- Huawei 5G CPE Pro 2 H122-373: The latest generation of 5G products is equipped with Huawei’s self-developed Balong 5000 chip and supports SA/NSA dual-mode 5G networks. It can provide download speeds of up to 3.6Gbps. In addition, CPE Pro 2 also supports Wi-Fi 6 technology, providing a more stable and faster wireless connection.
- Huawei 5G CPE Pro H112-372: It is also equipped with Huawei’s Balong 5000 chip, which supports download speeds up to 2.3Gbps. It is equipped with a dual connection mode of 4G and 5G, ensuring that when the 5G signal is unstable, it will automatically switch to the 4G network to provide a seamless Internet experience. CPE Pro H112-372 also supports Wi-Fi 5, which can provide stable and high-speed wireless connections for multiple devices.
- ZTE 5G CPE Indoor WiFi MC801: MC801 is equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X50 5G modem, supports NSA/SA dual-mode 5G network, and can provide download speeds of up to 2Gbps, ensuring that users enjoy an extremely fast network experience. The device also supports Wi-Fi 6 technology, which can provide higher-speed and more stable wireless connections and is suitable for simultaneous access by multiple devices.
- ZTE 5G Indoor CPE MC8020: ZTE’s latest generation 5G CPE products are specially designed for home and small office environments. It is equipped with the latest 5G chip and supports download speeds of up to 3.8Gbps, further improving the user’s network experience. MC8020 not only supports dual-mode 5G networks, but is also compatible with Wi-Fi 6E technology, providing wider frequency bands and lower latency, ensuring excellent performance in high-density device environments.
Conclusion
Against the background that the number of essential patents for 5G standards worldwide has exceeded 114,000, Huawei and ZTE have occupied the first and fifth positions respectively with their strong technical strength and continuous innovation. Their achievements not only demonstrate the leading position of Chinese enterprises in the global 5G field, but also make important contributions to the development of global 5G technology. As enterprise and individual users, choosing high-quality 5G products has become the key to improving communication experience and competitiveness.
I guess you don’t want to miss another article showcasing Huawei’s technological capabilities: “Gartner Report: Huawei Dominates Critical Storage Platform Capabilities“. This article provides an in-depth exploration of Huawei’s outstanding performance in key capabilities of storage platforms, further proving Huawei’s all-round leadership in different technology fields.
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