The 5G cellular standard is transforming industries, extending connectivity far beyond smartphones and computers into the Internet of Things (IoT). From automotive and logistics to smart manufacturing, smart cities, and even smart healthcare, the 5G revolution is reshaping entire sectors. Unlike any other technology, 5G is underpinned by thousands of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs)—patents essential to any implementation of the standardized technology. With a dramatic rise in 5G patent owners, 5G declared patents, and potential implementers compared to previous standards, 5G’s revolution goes far beyond technology. It is redefining legal and business frameworks and reshaping the SEP licensing and litigation landscape. While SEP licensing in the smartphone market is mature, cellular IoT licensing in many sectors is still in its infancy. As a result, 5G SEP licensing faces a long journey ahead. There are geopolitical tensions, global disputes, and local regulations that create significant challenges and uncertainty for both SEP owners and implementers. The race for 5G patents has become more competitive than ever. There are significant geopolitical implications as nations vie for leadership in critical technologies. Courts beyond the UK are increasingly involved in setting global fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) rates. The Chinese courts are becoming particularly active, and the Unified Patent Court (UPC) recently issued its first FRAND ruling. The determination of FRAND rates often includes, among other evidence, a “top-down” approach. This is where the size of a 5G ultimate owner’s portfolio is compared to the overall 5G patent stack to calculate the 5G share. Courts are furthermore increasingly relying on robust 5G patent data to assess the comparability of license agreements, emphasizing the importance of reliable and transparent data in these decisions.
The report “Who Is Leading the 5G Patent Race” recently published by LexisNexis® Intellectual Property Solutions, highlights the dynamic landscape of 5G SEP ownership. The report offers valuable insights into the ongoing investment in 5G technology. It illustrates that the number of granted 5G patent declarations has more than doubled in the past three years. Declarations have grown from slightly over 25,000 declared 5G granted patent families in 2021 to more than 57,000 declared 5G granted patent families as of October 2024. The leading 5G patent holders—Huawei (China), Qualcomm (U.S.), and Ericsson (Sweden)—dominate the top three positions in 5G patent ownership. Chinese-headquartered companies account for over 40% of 5G-declared patent families. Companies headquartered in the U.S., Korea, and Europe each hold shares of 15–20%.
The strongest contributors to 5G technical standards are Huawei (China), Ericsson (Sweden), and Nokia (Finland), who lead in 5G-related technical standard submissions. Here the total number of technical standards contributions related to 5G surpassed 80,000 by October 2024. This marks an all-time high as companies continue to heavily invest in the 5G revolution. With the upcoming release of 5G Advanced next year and the initiation of 6G development, the industry’s momentum shows no sign of slowing.
The value of patents, particularly SEPs, varies significantly depending on their scope and utility. While some SEPs encompass foundational technologies applicable across multiple generations of standards, others may cover incremental enhancements to niche features with limited practical use. Consequently, simply counting patent families may not accurately reflect the true value or enforceability of a patent portfolio. A reliable indicator of a patent family’s value is the extent to which other innovations build upon the technology it protects. As well as the breadth of the global protection deemed appropriate by its ultimate owner. Based on the patent value metric, Patent Asset Index, the report results reveal notable shifts in 5G revolution patent rankings when compared to patent family counts. Considering the 5G patent value metric Qualcomm leads the 5G patent rank. It is followed by Huawei, with Samsung moving up to third place. Significant rank advancements include InterDigital, rising from 17 to 7 when considering the patent value metric, reflecting InterDigital focus on research and development (R&D) and SEP licensing. Similarly, the research lab of Shanghai Langbo advances from 52 to 23. Fraunhofer Institute climbs from 27 to 24 and TNO Netherlands rises from 95 to 54. This emphasizes the strength of R&D-centric organizations.
Notably, businesses specializing in patent acquisition, monetization and enforcement, often referred to as Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs), show remarkable improvements in the Patent Asset Index value metric rank. For example, Pegasus Wireless, which acquired 5G patents from KT Corp, moves from 74 to 34. Longhorn IP, which acquired 5G portfolios from FG Innovation and Shanghai Langbo, advances its rank from 83 to 38. Key Patent Innovations, which obtained a 5G portfolio from Blackberry, improves its position from 79 to 42. 5G IP Holdings, which owns a former FG Innovation portfolio, climbs from 124 to 45. IP Bridge, which acquired 5G patents from Huawei and Panasonic, rises from 141 to 47. New Radio, which owns 5G patents from FG Innovation, increases from 106 to 48. These shifts underscore that applying a value-based metric like the Patent Asset Index to 5G-declared patent data alters the landscape. It favors R&D-driven companies and those with rigorous patent acquisition and monetization strategies. This approach highlights portfolios with higher value, providing a more meaningful assessment than raw patent counts alone.
The report based on analytics conducted with LexisNexis® IPlytics™ not only presents unique insights into the patent data of the 5G revolution, data but also highlights the methodologies and challenges involved in creating reliable 5G patent datasets. A key focus of this report was ensuring that variations in companies’ declaration practices—such as timing, volume, and accuracy—do not distort the rankings. Since patent declarations rely on self-reporting, these differences can significantly impact the data. For the first time, the report introduces the “Cellular Verified” initiative, a groundbreaking data-cleaning project. This initiative involved collaboration with over 30 ETSI-declaring companies to clean, match, deduplicate, classify, enhance, and ultimately verify patent declarations. The result is the most reliable and comprehensive representation of cellular patent data in the market.
LexisNexis IPlytics’ Data Cleaning Initiative in Partnership with 30+ Market Leaders in the Cellular Sector
Patent declaration databases provide critical insights into 5G patent ownership. They serve as a foundational resource for stakeholders involved in patent licensing negotiations, patent commercialization, and patent pool formation. Access to comprehensive data on declared patents, pooled assets, and standards contributions is essential to navigate these processes effectively. SEP portfolios are inherently dynamic, evolving alongside advancements in patenting activity and the progression of standards. Understanding and calculating market share for a specific standard, such as 5G, requires a detailed analysis based on several key factors:
5G patent stack calculation:
These data points enable stakeholders to assess the value of patent portfolios available for licensing and prepare for FRAND negotiations. This approach also enables benchmarking SEP licensing offers against comparable agreements. In emerging verticals like IoT, where SEP licensing is still in its infancy, reliable, clean and validated 5G patent data becomes especially valuable. The lack of established reference points for FRAND rates in these industries necessitates robust data-driven analyses to guide licensing discussions and establish fair market practices for 5G-related technologies. 5G patent owners, as well as 5G standards implementers, benefit greatly by following a data-driven approach to solving challenges in the SEP licensing market.
The application of 5G SEPs in the mobile sector is rapidly expanding into other industries. This presents both opportunities and challenges for SEP owners and standards implementers alike. For IP professionals, it is vital to anticipate future business needs over the next two, five, and ten years and to ensure that their patent licensing strategy is well-positioned to support these objectives. This requires a systematic approach to developing, evaluating, and analyzing 5G patent portfolios and understanding competitive landscapes across diverse industries. Access to reliable, well-curated data on patent declarations, pools, and standards contributions is critical for gaining insights into patent ecosystems and assessing the value of 5G portfolios when licensing, joining pools, or engaging in SEP transactions.
Staying ahead of trends and preparing for future challenges will ensure success, while a reactive approach risks falling behind in an increasingly dynamic and competitive environment. Key considerations include:
Discover the true leaders in 5G innovation and the patent landscape for 2025 through verified patent analysis powered by Cellular Verified Initiative.
