Korea Ranks No.1 Worldwide in Micro LED Patent Registrations... LG and Samsung Clearly Leading

South Korea has taken the lead in the global patent registration status in the micro LED field. In particular, the strong performance of LG and Samsung stood out in patent registrations in this area.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) on the 7th, the number of micro LED-related patent registrations filed with major patent offices (Korea, USA, China, European Union, Japan, hereinafter IP5) increased nearly twofold from 540 cases in 2013 to 1,045 cases in 2022. The average annual growth rate was 7.6%.

Trends in patent registrations by nationality in the Micro LED field from 2013 to 2022. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

By nationality of registrants, South Korea accounted for the largest share at 23.2% (1,567 cases, 1st place). This was followed by Japan at 20.1% (1,360 cases, 2nd place), China at 18.0% (1,217 cases, 3rd place), the United States at 16.0% (1,080 cases, 4th place), and the European Union at 11.0% (750 cases, 5th place).

Among major registrants, LG Innotek ranked first with a total of 404 cases (6.0%), followed by Samsung Electronics (384 cases, 5.7%), Japan Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL, 315 cases, 4.7%), Samsung Display (240 cases, 3.6%), and China's Jingdongfang (BOE, 223 cases, 3.3%).

Additionally, LG Display (133 cases, 5.8%) ranked 9th overall, confirming that four Korean companies are positioned within the top 10.

However, in terms of average annual growth rate from 2013 to 2022, China ranked first with 37.5%, followed by the European Union (10.0%), Taiwan (9.9%), South Korea (4.4%), and the United States (4.1%).

The Korean Intellectual Property Office anticipates that patent competition in this field will intensify further, considering the global focus on micro LED technology and the active research and development reflecting this trend.

Inchobok, head of the Semiconductor Manufacturing Process Examination Division at KIPO, stated, “Micro LED excels in thickness, brightness, power consumption, and color implementation, and its application areas are gradually expanding to include large TVs, smartwatches, augmented reality, virtual reality, and small wearable devices.”

He added, “As the market size grows, competition among countries and companies worldwide is expected to become fierce. The Korean Intellectual Property Office will continue to provide high-quality examinations and related patent information to help domestic companies secure global leadership in micro LED technology following OLED.”

Patent registration increase and decrease status by country in the Micro LED field from 2013 to 2022. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

Meanwhile, micro LED is a display technology where each LED element, smaller than 100㎛, emits light as an individual pixel.

Compared to LCD and OLED, it is thinner and can control the light of each LED element individually to realize detailed contrast ratios, which is considered an advantage.

Unlike OLEDs that use organic materials, micro LED does not suffer from image degradation or burn-in (afterimage) effects, consumes less power, has a longer lifespan, and faster response times, drawing industry attention as the next-generation display.

The micro LED market grew from $14 million in 2022 to $27 million last year, a 92% increase year-over-year. Considering this growth trend, the market size is expected to reach $580 million by 2027, with an average annual growth rate of 136%.

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