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Patent Licensing Companies in the Semiconductor Market 2017: 2,880 US Patents Have Been Acquired by PLCs Since 2013 - Research and Markets
[March 13, 2017]

Patent Licensing Companies in the Semiconductor Market 2017: 2,880 US Patents Have Been Acquired by PLCs Since 2013 - Research and Markets


DUBLIN, Mar. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Patent Licensing Companies in the Semiconductor Market" report to their offering.

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Patent Licensing Companies (PLCs) are non-operating companies concentrated on creating the majority of their income from licensing patents to or litigating against operating companies suspected to infringe their patent rights. Other related terms include nonpracticing entities (NPEs), patent holding companies (PHCs), patent monetization entities (PMEs), patent assertion entities (PAEs) and Patent Trolls. PLCs commonly acquire their patents from other companies, and then monetize them via aggressive patent litigation. Some

PLCs have R&D activities in order to generate their own patents, and they monetize them by licensing.

The RPX Corporation's March 2015 report states that NPEs cost operating companies an estimated $12.2 billion in both legal fees and other legal costs and settlement or judgment amounts in 2014. Patent Licensing Companies operate in fields with high probability of patent infringement, mainly in USA, where litigation damages are much higher than in Europe or Asia. In a patent infringement action, the potential sales volume plays a major role for assessing the damage award. Thus, the PLCs come into action when the market has reached a critical size and target companies have made irreversible investments.

Patent litigation risk tends to increase as new technologies emerge, or as existing technologies combine to create new products and services. The convergence of technologies in the semiconductor field leads to an increase in patent litigation in that sector. The semiconductor industry brings together all ingredients to appeal to PLCs. These include strong consolidation, with many mergers and acquisitions (M&A), numerous patents for sale from bankrupt companies and M&A, complex patented inventions, the colossal amount of products embedding semiconductor devices, big companies, and a lot of money. All companies designing, manufacturing or marketing semiconductor-based products are potential targets for PLCs' next patent litigation.

In this report we reveal the most aggressive Patent Licensing Companies in the semiconductor field, their recent patent acquisitions, and their potential targets for future patent litigation. More than 2,880 semiconductor-related US patents have been acquired by PLCs since 2013.

Now, it is a critical time to assess the patent litigation risks and know the potential targets related to these recent patent acquisitions: 

- Which PLCs recently acquired semiconductor-related patents?
- Which PLCs represent the biggest threat for operating companies?
- Which products and which companies have already been involved in patent litigation with PLCs in the semiconductor field?
- Which companies are potential targets for PLCs?
- How can operating companies deal with the PLC threat?

Key Features Of The Report:

- Ranking of PLCs according to their recent patent acquisitions in the semiconductor field
- Dynamics of patent acquisitions and patented technology including memory, transistor, sensor, manufacturing and packaging
- Expected expiration date of patents and remaining lifetime of  PLCs' patent portfolios
- Dynamics of US patent litigation filed by PLCs in the semiconductor mrket and more broadly



- Details on the latest patent litigation filed by PLC in the semiconductor field, including defendants, accused products and current status of the litigation cases
- Aggressiveness of PLCs in the semiconductor market and more broadly
- Litigation risk assessment from PLCs and potential targeted companies in the semiconductor field
- IP profiles of main PLCs

Key Topics Covered:


1. Introduction                                                                         

- Patent Licensing Companies
- Scope and Objectives of the report
- Main patent assignees mentioned in this report

2. Methodology                                                                                           

- Patent search, Patent selection, Patent analysis
- Terminologies for patent analysis

3. Patent Landscape Overview                                                                     

- Main Patent Licensing Companies in Semiconductors
- Dynamics of US patented Invention Reassignments to PLCs
- Expected expiration date of US patent reassigned to PLCs in 2013-2016
- Average remaining lifetime of US granted patents reassigned to PLCs in 2013-2016

4. Patent Litigation Overview                                                                                                                                                                                                 

- Definitions
- Dynamics of US patent litigations filed by selected PLCs in all market sectors
- Aggressiveness of selected Patent Licensing Companies in all market sectors
- Dynamics of US patent litigations filed by selected PLCs in Semiconductor market
- Accused products and defendants in recent US Patents litigations in Semiconductor market
- Aggressiveness of selected Patent Licensing Companies in Semiconductor market
- Litigation risk assessment from PLCs which acquired US patents in 2013-2016

5. Patented Technologies Acquired By PLCs In 2013-2016                                                                                           

- Patent Segmentation
- US Patented Inventions Split by Technology
- Patent Licensing Company Patent Portfolios Split by Technology 

6. IP Profile Of Key Patent Licensing Companies                 

- Interactions between PLCs and Practising Entities
- WiLAN
- Tessera
- Conversant IP Management
- Intellectual Ventures
- Acacia Research
- Round Rock Research
- DSS Technology Management
- Future Link Systems
- X2Y Attenuators
- PACT XPP Technologies

For each Patent Licensing Company: 

- Company profile
- Recent Patent Acquisitions in Semiconductor Field
- Time Evolution of Patent Litigations in Semiconductor Market
- Latest Litigation Campaigns in Semiconductor Market
- Potential Targets in Semiconductor Market
- Potential Targets by Technology Segment

7. Conclusion

Companies Mentioned

- 3M
- AT&T
- AU Optronics
- Acacia Research
- Advanced Micro Devices
- Advanced Semiconductor Engineering
- Alcatel-Lucent
- Alpha & Omega Semiconductor
- Altera
- American PCS Communications
- Amkor
- Analog Devices
- Aplus Flash Technology
- Apple
- Applied Materials
- Aptina Imaging
- Attopsemi Technology
- Avalanche Technology
- BOE Technology
- Blackberry
- Bridge Semiconductor
- Broadcom
- Canon
- Carl Zeiss
- Chipmos Technologies
- Cisco Systems
- Citizen Electronics
- Conversant IP Management
- Cordis
- Cree
- Crocus Technology
- Crossbar
- Cypress Semiconductor
- DSS Technology Management
- Dell
- Denso
- Dongbu Electronics
- Dongbu Hitek
- Elpida
- Emcore
- Ememory Technology
- Epistar
- Ericsson
- Everspin
- Foxconn
- Freescale
- Fuji Electric
- Fujifilm
- Fujitsu
- Future Link Systems
- Genia Technologies
- Global
- Globalfoundries
- Google
- Greatbatch
- Guardian Industries
- HSIO Technologies
- Hewlett Packard
- Hitachi
- Honeywell
- Huawei
- IBM
- Ibiden
- Imaging
- Infineon Technologies
- Innolux
- Innovative Silicon ISI
- Inotera Memories
- Intel
- Intellectual Ventures
- Interdigital Technology
- International
- Intersil
- Intuitive
- Invensense
- KLA Tencor
- Kingston Technology
- Kodak
- Kyocera
- LG
- Lam Research
- Lattice Semiconductor
- Legacy Electronics
- Lexmark
- Macronix International
- Manufacturing International
- Marvell
- Mediatek
- Memory
- Microchip
- Micron Technology
- Microsemi
- Mitsubishi Electric
- Molecular Imprints
- Monolithic 3D
- Mosaid
- Motorola
- Murata Manufacturing
- NEC
- NXP
- Nanometrics
- Nantero
- Nanya Technology
- National Semiconductor
- Nikon
- Nokia
- Nvidia
- OEP Imaging
- OLED Technology
- Olympus
- Omnivision Technologies
- Optiz
- Osram
- Ovonyx Memory Technology
- PACT XPP
- Panasonic
- Pelican Imaging
- Philips
- Pixart
- PolyIC
- Power Integrations
- Powerchip Technology
- Promos Technologies
- Qorvo
- Qualcomm
- Quarkstar
- Rambus
- Raytheon
- Renesas Electronics
- Ricoh
- Robert Bosch
- Rohm
- Round Rock Research
- SK Hynix
- SPIL
- STATS ChipPAC
- STMicroelectronics
- Samsung Electronics
- Sandisk
- Seagate Technology
- Seiko Epson
- Semiconductor
- Semiconductor Energy Laboratory
- Sharp
- Siemens
- Silicon Laboratories
- Socionext
- Sony
- Surgical
- TDK
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC)
- Tarana Wireless
- Technologies
- Technologies
- Technology
- Technology
- Tela Innovations
- Tessera
- Texas Instruments
- Tokyo Electron
- Toshiba
- UMC
- Unimicron
- United Technologies
- Universal Display
- Verizon
- Visera Technologies
- Vishay
- WiLAN
- X2Y Attenuators  
- Xerox
- Xilinx
- Xintec
- Zeno Semiconductor
- Zink

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/tf6jwp/patent_licensing

Media Contact:

Laura Wood, Senior Manager
[email protected]  

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