Samsung Electronics Surpasses 200,000 Patents Held... Strengthening Technological Hegemony Competitiveness

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Samsung Electronics' patent holdings exceeded 200,000 in the first half of this year. As global competition for technological supremacy intensifies, the importance of patents is increasingly emphasized, and Samsung Electronics is strengthening its technological competitiveness by continuing large-scale investments in intellectual property research and development (R&D).

According to the semi-annual report recently disclosed by Samsung Electronics on the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 22nd, the number of patents held by Samsung Electronics as of the end of June this year reached 205,816. Since Samsung Electronics first registered a patent in the United States in 1984, this is the first time the number of patents held has exceeded 200,000. This represents a 4.1% increase from 197,749 patents at the end of last year, with nearly 7,000 additional patents added since the first quarter of this year.

By country, the United States had the most patents with 80,633, followed by Korea with 44,271, Europe with 39,288, China with 18,879, and Japan with 9,584. Samsung Electronics also held 13,161 patents in other countries. Samsung Electronics explained, "To effectively respond to disputes in the United States, we hold the most patents in the U.S. based on cumulative numbers."

Most of the patents relate to smartphones, smart TVs, memory semiconductors, and system LSI, and are used in Samsung Electronics' strategic business products or are expected to be utilized in the future. Samsung Electronics stated, "In addition to protecting our business, we also play a role in checking competitors in a situation where similar technologies and patents are rampant," adding, "By securing prior patents related to future new technologies, we expect to protect our business when entering new markets."

Globally, as competition for supremacy over core technologies such as semiconductors and displays intensifies, the importance of patents that can protect these technologies is expanding. While Chinese semiconductor and display companies are focusing on securing technological capabilities, so-called 'patent trolls' are also rampant, especially in the U.S. and Europe, seeking to generate profits through patent disputes. According to the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency, Samsung Electronics and its major affiliates have been involved in over 400 patent lawsuits in the U.S. over the past five years from 2017 to May this year.

In response, Samsung Electronics appears to be focusing on securing a broad patent protection network by investing huge funds to hold patents. In the first half of this year, Samsung Electronics invested 11 trillion won in intellectual property R&D, the highest level for a half-year period. The scale of intellectual property R&D investment, which was around 8 trillion won in 2018, exceeded 10 trillion won in 2019 and has been steadily increasing. Last year, 21.2 trillion won was invested in intellectual property R&D annually, and this year the amount is expected to exceed 22 trillion won.

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