Avanci welcomes Samsung Electronics

Leading global innovator joins several Avanci licensing programs, increasing value for licensees

Avanci, a leader in simplifying the sharing of advanced technologies, today announced that Samsung Electronics has become a licensor for several of its licensing programs, including Avanci Vehicle 4G, Avanci Aftermarket and Avanci Broadcast.

Avanci has transformed how companies share technology, enabling product makers to access patented technology from many companies and research institutes in a single transaction at fixed rates, paid once for the product’s lifetime. The Avanci model efficiently helps businesses unlock the potential of technologies created by thousands of inventors around the globe to create innovative new products for their customers.

Existing licensees of Avanci Vehicle 4G, spanning more than 80 auto brands, are now also licensed to the 4/3/2G standard essential patents (SEPs) of Samsung Electronics for their connected vehicles, extending the value of their license. Similarly, Avanci Aftermarket licensees are covered for their aftermarket vehicle products.

Avanci also recently launched Avanci Broadcast, a one-stop licensing platform for the ATSC 3.0 television standard. Samsung Electronics was one of the largest contributors to the development of that standard and is among the initial licensors for the platform, which collectively represent more than 70% of all patent families containing patents declared essential for the ATSC 3.0 standard.  Samsung Electronics is also the world’s largest manufacturer of televisions and is one of the initial licensees for Avanci Broadcast, which collectively have been responsible for the vast majority of ATSC 3.0 televisions sold to date. “We are delighted to welcome Samsung Electronics, a global leader in innovation and a long-term contributor to the development of standardized technologies, as an Avanci licensor,” said Kasim Alfalahi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Avanci. “This announcement reinforces the broad industry enthusiasm for the Avanci model and adds value for existing and future licensees at no additional cost to them. We look forward to working with Samsung Electronics and our other partners on efficient licensing solutions for today and in the future.”

Avanci announces UNISOC as a new licensor

Leading platform chip design company joins Avanci’s one-stop licensing marketplace for connected vehicles

DALLAS, Texas, February 13, 2023 – Today, Avanci announced that UNISOC has joined its one-stop connected vehicle licensing marketplace. As a result, all existing and future Avanci Vehicle 4G licensees will be licensed to the 4G, 3G and 2G essential patents created and owned by UNISOC, as well as those of the other 54 patent owners in the marketplace.

Avanci Vehicle has transformed the way companies share technology by licensing intellectual property from many different patent holders in a single transaction, at fixed rates, paid once for the lifetime of the vehicle. By streamlining the technology sharing process, Avanci provides automotive manufacturers with an efficient and transparent way to access the wireless technology needed for their connected vehicles. More than 100 million connected vehicles on the world’s roads, from over 80 automotive brands, are covered by an Avanci license.

Laurie Fitzgerald, Senior Vice President at Avanci, said: “We are pleased to welcome UNISOC, a company focused on communications chipset development and innovation, as an Avanci licensor. UNISOC joins our existing licensors, including several leading Chinese companies, in licensing their cellular essential patents to automakers around the world.”

Jiejing Yang, Head of Legal Department of UNISOC, said: “UNISOC is devoted to innovation in advanced cellular technologies. We also look for efficient and transparent ways to license our cellular essential patents to implementers in different industries. We value the Avanci marketplace for its one-stop licensing approach for IoT and automotive manufacturers and its important role in establishing a healthy industry ecosystem.”

About UNISOC

UNISOC is a leading platform chip design company. It is one of the few companies in the world that has fully mastered 2G/3G/4G/5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, TV FM, satellite communications and other related technologies.

UNISOC has extensive expertise in large-scale chip integration and complete peripheral chip integration. UNISOC product portfolio includes mobile communication central processing units, baseband chips, AI chipsets, radio frequency front-end chips, radio frequency chips and other communication, computing and control chips, etc.

Avanci joins World Economic Forum’s Global Innovators Community

Avanci to continue engagement with the Forum’s platforms to help shape the global agenda on key issues

 

Avanci, a leader in enabling the sharing of technologies used by a wide range of products, has been invited to become part of the World Economic Forum’s Global Innovators Community.

The Global lnnovators Community is a group of the world’s most promising start-ups and scale-ups that are at the forefront of technological and business model innovation. The World Economic Forum provides the Community with a platform to engage with public and private sector leaders and to contribute new solutions to overcome current crises and build future resiliency.

Verena Kuhn, Head of the Global Innovators Community, World Economic Forum, says: “The World Economic Forum is happy to have Avanci continue its engagement with the Forum by joining our Global Innovators community. Including new, innovative voices is essential in the work we do at the Forum, and we look forward to how Avanci’s expertise will continue to add to our projects, dialogues and platforms.”

Kasim Alfalahi, founder and CEO of Avanci, says: “We are excited to continue our journey with World Economic Forum as part of its Global Innovators Community, having been recognized as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum in 2020. Our continuing vision is that sharing technology on a global scale should be simpler. We look forward to continuing to work with the Forum’s Platforms on key issues such as the Future of Mobility.”

Since being named a Technology Pioneer, the Avanci one-stop marketplace for connected vehicles has grown to more than 80 auto brands licensed to cellular patents from 52 licensors, with more than 100 million licensed vehicles on the world’s roads.

More information on the Global Innovators Community can be found here.

 

About the Forum:

The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. It was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It is independent, impartial and not tied to any special interests.

www.weforum.org

Avanci Expands 4G Coverage to Over 80 Auto Brands

Avanci’s one-stop licensing marketplace now covers more than 100 million connected vehicles on the world’s roads

Avanci announced that more than 100 million connected vehicles sold by more than 80 automotive brands are covered by an Avanci license, and that it predicts an additional 30-40 million connected vehicles to be licensed in the next year. Having licensed the majority of patented 2G, 3G, and 4G cellular technologies to the majority of the connected vehicle market, Avanci is the established industry solution for essential patent licensing in the automotive space.

“We are incredibly pleased with the overwhelming adoption of our solution across both the telecommunications and automotive industries,” said Kasim Alfalahi, founder and chief executive officer of Avanci. “This level of participation validates our long-standing commitment to offer a simple, predictable and efficient solution for the Internet of Things, benefiting new technology adoption. We look forward to making licensing simpler and more efficient for a wide range of companies, as we explore new programs for massive, critical, and industrial IoT.”

“We are grateful to all the participants in our automotive licensing program for joining our effort to create a new way to license patents. Our work to date is a strong foundation for building our planned program for 5G connected vehicles,” added Laurie Fitzgerald, Senior Vice President at Avanci.

The auto makers participating in Avanci’s licensing program for 4G connected vehicles benefit from a license to all the 2G, 3G, and 4G cellular standard essential patents of the 51 patent owners participating as licensors in the program today, as well as patent owners that join as licensors in the future. Many of the new brands under license can be found at avanci.com/marketplace.

Avanci has transformed the way companies share technology by licensing intellectual property from dozens of different patent owners in a single transaction, at fixed rates, paid once for the lifetime of the product. By streamlining the technology sharing process, Avanci provides IoT companies with an efficient and transparent way to access the wireless technology needed for connected products.

Avanci Welcomes Toyota as a Licensee

Toyota joins Avanci’s essential patent marketplace for connected vehicles

 

Today, Avanci announced that it has signed a patent license agreement with Toyota Motor Corporation. Toyota’s connected vehicles are now licensed to the 2G, 3G, and 4G essential patents of the 51 licensors that participate in Avanci’s automotive licensing program today, as well as others that join as licensors in the future.

“We are delighted to welcome Toyota, a company striving to raise the quality and availability of mobility worldwide, to Avanci. We thank the entire Toyota team for their collaboration towards this agreement.” said Kasim Alfalahi, founder and chief executive officer of Avanci.

Avanci has transformed the way companies share technology by licensing intellectual property from many different patent holders in a single transaction, at fixed rates, paid once for the lifetime of the vehicle. By streamlining the technology sharing process, Avanci provides automotive manufacturers with an efficient and transparent way to access the wireless technology needed for their connected vehicles. With more than 80 participating automotive brands, over 100 million connected vehicles on the world’s roads are covered by an Avanci license.

Avanci Signs License Agreement with Nissan

Nissan joins Avanci’s essential patent marketplace for connected vehicles

 

Today, Avanci announced that it has signed a patent license agreement with Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

“We are pleased to welcome Nissan, a company focused on driving innovation to enrich people’s lives, to Avanci,” said Kasim Alfalahi, founder and chief executive officer of Avanci.

Connected vehicles from Nissan including the Infiniti brand are now licensed to the 2G, 3G, and 4G essential patents owned by the 51 licensors that participate in Avanci’s 4G connected vehicles program, as well as licensors who join the program in the future.

Avanci has transformed the way companies share technology by licensing intellectual property from many different patent holders in a single transaction, at fixed rates, paid once for the lifetime of the vehicle. By streamlining the technology sharing process, Avanci provides automakers with an efficient and transparent way to access the cellular technology needed for connected vehicles. With more than 80 participating automotive brands, over 100 million connected vehicles on the world’s roads are covered by an Avanci license.

Avanci Welcomes Honda as a Licensee

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. joins Avanci’s essential patent marketplace for connected vehicles

Today, Avanci announced that it has signed a patent license agreement with Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Connected vehicles from Honda are now licensed to the 2G, 3G, and 4G essential patents of the 51 licensors that participate in Avanci’s automotive licensing program today, as well as others that join as licensors in the future.

“We are delighted to welcome Honda Motor Co., Ltd., a company driven by the power of dreams, to Avanci,” said Kasim Alfalahi, founder and chief executive officer of Avanci.

Avanci has transformed the way companies share technology by licensing intellectual property from many different patent holders in a single transaction, at fixed rates, paid once for the lifetime of the vehicle. By streamlining the technology sharing process, Avanci provides automotive manufacturers with an efficient and transparent way to access the wireless technology needed for their connected vehicles. With more than 80 participating automotive brands, over 100 million connected vehicles on the world’s roads are covered by an Avanci license.

Avanci Signs License Agreement with Stellantis

Stellantis joins Avanci’s essential patent marketplace for connected vehicles

 

Today, Avanci announced that it has signed a patent license agreement with Stellantis N.V.

“We are very happy to welcome Stellantis, a leading global automaker and mobility provider, as an Avanci licensor,” said Kasim Alfalahi, founder and chief executive officer of Avanci.

Connected vehicles from the Stellantis brands are now licensed to the 2G, 3G, and 4G essential patents owned by the 51 licensors that participate in Avanci’s 4G connected vehicles program, as well as licensors who join the program in the future.

Avanci has transformed the way companies share technology by licensing intellectual property from many different patent holders in a single transaction, at fixed rates, paid once for the lifetime of the vehicle. By streamlining the technology sharing process, Avanci provides automakers with an efficient and transparent way to access the cellular technology needed for connected vehicles. With more than 80 participating automotive brands, over 100 million connected vehicles on the world’s roads are covered by an Avanci license.

Avanci Signs Agreements with Hyundai and Kia

South Korean automakers join Avanci’s essential patent marketplace for connected vehicles

DALLAS, Texas, August 25, 2022 – Today, Avanci announced that it has signed patent license agreements with Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation, increasing the total number of automotive brands licensed through Avanci to 45. Connected vehicles from the Genesis, Hyundai and Kia brands receive licenses to the 2G, 3G, and 4G essential patents of the 50 licensors that participate in Avanci’s automotive licensing program today, as well as others that join as licensors in the future.

“We are delighted to welcome Hyundai and Kia, South Korean automakers and together one of the world’s largest providers of mobility solutions, as Avanci licensees,” said Kasim Alfalahi, founder and chief executive officer of Avanci. “These agreements represent significant growth for Avanci and show our commitment to offering simple, predictable, and efficient licensing solutions for the automotive industry.”

Avanci has transformed the way companies share technology by licensing intellectual property from many different patent holders in a single transaction, at fixed rates, paid once for the lifetime of the vehicle. By streamlining the technology sharing process, Avanci provides automotive manufacturers with an efficient and transparent way to access the wireless technology needed for their connected vehicles. Tens of millions of connected vehicles on the world’s roads are licensed through Avanci.

Licensor Spotlight: For WILUS, the best way to predict the future is to invent it

As part of a series of articles, we spotlight the innovation of another innovator in our independent Avanci marketplace, WILUS.

Wilus

WILUS, which became an Avanci licensor in 2021, is a Korean powerhouse of technological innovation. WILUS develops advanced technologies for wireless communications and immersive multimedia services, and contributes its technologies to international standards, including for 4G & 5G communications (3GPP releases 13-18), next generation wireless LAN, and for broadcasting and audio/video codecs.

We recently spoke with two inventors from WILUS to learn more about their innovation journeys, their focus for the future, and their advice to anyone interested in a career in research and development.

Jin Sam Kwak is the founder and CEO of WILUS, as well as being a core inventor for the company’s 3GPP related technologies. Following a PhD in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from Seoul National University in Korea, he spent a couple of years in the United States conducting research in wireless communications. He then joined LG Electronics, rising to be chief research engineer, and ultimately Sam left to found WILUS in 2012. Sam is a named inventor on more than two thousand patents and has made over a thousand technical contributions to standards development organizations (SDOs).

Minseok Noh is Principal Engineer at WILUS, and another core 3GPP inventor. After gaining his masters’ degree in electrical engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), he joined LG Electronics, where he first met Sam. In 2012, Minseok joined KT, Korea’s leading network operator, as Chief Research Engineer, and then joined WILUS in 2015. Like Sam, he has spent much of his career as a delegate to SDOs, and is named on more than 400 patents declared to the 4G/LTE standard.

We asked both inventors what motivated them to follow a career in research and development.

For Sam, the world of mobile communications which was emerging while he was a student felt new and exciting. He felt driven to change the world through his knowledge and interest, and that “the best way to predict your future is to invent it” – a belief which ultimately became the company vision for WILUS.

Sam’s curiosity led him to post-doctoral research on topics such as multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) antenna solutions. Joining LG Electronics at a time when they were looking to grow a next generation of research leaders gave him the opportunity to lead teams of researchers and continue to develop his skills, as well as participating in the standardization process and organizations such as 3GPP, IEEE 802, WiMAX Forum, Wi-Fi Alliance and MPEG. All of this reinforced the value of standardization in sharing inventions with the world.

Minseok remembers being interested at graduate school in the transition from CDMA to OFDM communications, and was excited to join LG Electronics as a research engineer investigating those topics, including spending time as a visiting scholar at the University of Toronto in Canada. He was also active in standardization activities, as a delegate for 3GPP LTE Advanced projects at LG Electronics and KT. Currently, at WILUS, he is leading the 3GPP team for the development of 5G New Radio (NR) Advanced technologies. Together with the other WILUS experts, he is strongly convinced that the proliferation of next-generation standards technology will bring us new opportunities in the future.

In 2021, WILUS became a licensor in the independent Avanci marketplace, sharing its 4G technologies with Avanci licensees. Among the many 4G technologies which WILUS has created, and which are included in the Avanci license, are contributions to the LTE Advanced Pro feature. Sam reflected on the decision to join Avanci, noting that the company had considered the best options for licensing its SEPs and concluded that Avanci’s profile and proven success made it the best choice. The efficiency that WILUS gained by licensing through Avanci’s open and transparent marketplace, rather than engaging in bilateral negotiations with individual licensees, meant that they could continue to focus their efforts on breakthrough R&D.

Underpinning their strategy is a close integration between the company’s inventors and their patent attorneys. They are physically co-located, a difference from many R&D organizations, and patent filing and prosecution is managed by an in-house team, led by Hyunju Son. Sam credits this for the establishment of a strong portfolio of patents, the monetization of which enables the company to continue to invest in new research.

Looking to the future, WILUS inventors, including Sam and Minseok, are working on evolved capabilities for 5G communications, including 5G New Radio (NR) Air Interface and 5G Advanced capabilities such as Sidelink / Coverage Enhancements and Flexible Duplex communications for Release 18. With the global commercialization of 5G, WILUS is striving for 5G Advanced to enable and bring out the new application and capabilities for end-to-end 5G networks and new devices & services such as immersive extended reality (XR).

In closing, we asked both inventors for their advice to young people at the start of their working lives, who may be considering research as a career. Sam believes that most young engineers want to change the world in some way, that they should find topics that they are really interested in, and of course, to participate in standards development work! For Minseok, he remembers that when he started his career, he had very little knowledge of the specialist areas he was asked to focus on. His advice is that you must persist, don’t give up, and that anything worth doing is usually very hard work at the start.