It's Difficult to Clearly Distinguish Internet of Things (IoT) Patents
Standard technology is required to produce products

By installing a smart hub in your home, you can now connect and use IoT-enabled appliances like TVs, robot vacuums, washing machines, rice cookers, humidifiers, and air purifiers. However, for now, only products from the same manufacturer can be connected.

The reason products from multiple manufacturers cannot be integrated is the lack of a unified IoT standard. Associations and companies are stepping up to create a unified standard. The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), a global IoT standards organization, announced the OCF 1.0 standard in late June, unifying the technical specifications of each company to enable interconnection between objects. Another IoT standard, oneM2M, is also scheduled to release Release-3 in June 2018.

As domestic companies such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics obtain OCF standard certification, interest in IoT standard essential patents is also growing.

Standard patents are patents that include standard technologies established by international standardization organizations such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Since circumvention of the technology is impossible, it is difficult to produce related products without using the technology.

Attorney Kang Jeong-bin of IPIST Patent Law Firm said, “As IoT patents increase rapidly, standards are becoming an issue,” adding, “Unlike artificial intelligence or big data, it is difficult to clearly divide patents for IoT. “In a system where IoT, which is a ‘de facto standard,’ is being implemented, everyone is focusing on patents, which is something they have no choice but to do,” he said.

He added, "A large part of IoT is the machine-to-machine interface, so there are bound to be numerous communication issues. We claim that 215,000 patents related to IoT and LTE are standard patents."

Traditionally, there are three ways in which standard-essential patents are created. The most common method is to patent technologies developed through actual participation in standardization activities. Another method is to intentionally patent technologies predicted by standardization trends, even if the product isn't actually manufactured. Finally, there are cases where patents held by companies with a high number of patents are found to unintentionally conform to established standards. This often occurs because the scope of patent rights is broadly defined.

Attorney Kang explained, "Because IoT technology is complex, there are already many patents in the communications field. However, as IoT standardization progresses, companies are filing standard patents accordingly." He added, "If we consider the value of standard patents, the average price per standard patent in LTE is around 8 billion won."

Standard patents can be found by searching the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). There are 155 standard patents registered, and by searching by code given by each country's patent office according to technology classification, you can find out which fields have the most standard patents filed.

Last year, as part of its support for the creation of standard patents, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) published a "Standard Patent Guide," which included detailed strategies for securing standard patents during the standardization process, including methods for obtaining standard patents and obtaining qualifications for standardization activities.