Sisvel to hold meeting on interest in LTE patent pool

Patent pool administrator Sisvel Group said it is holding an open meeting Feb. 2 to gauge interest in developing a patent pool for LTE technology. Companies that think they own essential patents related to the technology should submit those patents to Sisvel by Dec. 15, the company said.
Sisvel said it will study patents around LTE technology, as well as SAE (system architecture evolution). In addition, the company said it is expanding the scope of the patents beyond radio access specifications to include Evolved Packet Systems specifications “which were developed in parallel with the radio access technology, as well as those specifications of release 8 needed to complete an LTE/SAE system.”
Patent pools are an efficient way to determine which companies own intellectual property rights for technologies, as well as a way to establish royalty payments. As LTE technology comes to fruition, it will be interesting to see which companies own essential IPR. For example, Nokia and Ericsson were large players in the GSM technology patents, and Qualcomm Inc. owns substantial patents around CDMA-based technology. The Open Patent Alliance is trying to establish a patent pool for WiMAX technology to determine IPR as well as convince nontraditional consumer electronics equipment makers to build devices featuring WiMAX technology. OPA previously said it may consider a patent pool for LTE technology as well.
“The timing of our facilitation meeting is consistent with our view that an LTE/SAE pool should be structured to encourage the broadest participation possible,” explained Giustino de Sanctis, Managing Director of Sisvel Germany. “Sisvel is announcing this facilitation meeting in advance to give all LTE/SAE stakeholders ample opportunity to have a seat at the table.” The two-day meeting will either be held in Stuttgart or Frankfurt, Germany.
Sisvel has managed patent pools around MP3 and MPEG audio technologies, as well as administers the patent pool for CDMA2000, UHF-RFID and DVB-T standards, the company said.