An Experience-Based Look at the Licensing Practices That Drive the Cellular Communications Industry: Whole Portfolio/Whole Device Licensing

Abstract

Cellular communications technologies have undergone dramatic changes during the last 25 years, as major technological improvements revolutionized the way the world communicates, consumes, and creates digital content. The development of new, patented technologies have been vital to this revolution, but equally important has been the efficient way in which these patented technologies have been licensed, shared with, and implemented by industry. This paper draws from the experience of three licensing executives who have been involved in the cellular communications industry since its infancy and explains how the practice of “whole-portfolio” licensing of complete end-user devices developed, why this durable practice received widespread acceptance within the cellular industry and how it has contributed to the widely acknowledged successful growth and innovation of the wireless industry.

Keywords: Cellular Communications; Communication; Technology; Cellular; Digital; Patent License; Device Licensing