'OLED Trend' Patent Applications Also Increase by 5% Annually on Average

Trends and Proportions of Patent Applicants in the OLED Material Sector Over the Past 5 Years. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] As the application areas of organic light-emitting diodes (hereinafter OLED) have expanded, the number of patents filed in the OLED materials sector has also shown an increasing trend.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on the 14th, patent applications in the OLED materials sector from 2015 to 2019 recorded an average annual growth rate of 5%. During this period, the total number of applications was 3,067, with annual fluctuations of 533 in 2015, 730 in 2016, 550 in 2017, 603 in 2018, and 651 in 2019.

The OLED materials sector refers to the organic compound materials involved in the emission of light in display 'OLED panels' used in devices such as mobile phones and TVs. Materials used in OLEDs are classified into emission layer materials and common layer materials, with emission layer materials consisting of host and dopant substances. These materials are stacked between electrodes to form the OLED panel.

Status data on patent application trends and shares of major domestic OLED material companies. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

Over the past five years, domestic companies accounted for 79.0% of patent applicants in the OLED materials sector, while foreign companies made up 16.2%, forming the majority.

Among domestic companies, LG affiliates (939 applications) filed the most patents, followed by Samsung affiliates (442), Duksan Neolux (245), and Doosan (230).

Lee Suk-joo, head of the Polymer Fiber Examination Division at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, stated, “As the application areas of OLED expand and demand increases, the related materials market is also expected to grow rapidly. For domestic companies to lead the OLED materials market, continuous research and development along with securing patent rights are crucial.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.