Surging Global Patent Lawsuits... Next Target: 'Autonomous Driving Technology'

Last Year 3Q US NPE Lawsuits in Automotive Sector Surge 131%

[Asia Economy Reporter Su-yeon Woo] As patent litigation cases involving domestic electronics companies such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are rapidly increasing, there is a growing expectation that the next target of global patent management specialists (NPEs) may shift to companies related to autonomous driving technology.

According to patent defense firm RPX on the 12th, the number of NPE-related lawsuits filed in the United States up to the third quarter of last year in the automotive sector reached 83 cases, marking a 131% surge compared to the previous year. This is the highest year-over-year growth rate among all industries. Additionally, NPE-related lawsuits also increased in the medical (50%), networking (42%), and bio-pharmaceutical (38%) sectors.

The industry views this sharp rise in patent litigation in the automotive sector as likely to expand into the ‘autonomous driving technology’ field, which integrates convergent technologies. A representative from the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency analyzed, "The RPX report’s mention of a surge in automotive sector NPE lawsuits in the U.S. suggests that lawsuits in the autonomous vehicle sector, where information and communication technology and electrical-electronic technology are convergently used, have recently become targets of NPEs."

Already in May of last year, U.S. company JG Technologies filed patent infringement lawsuits at the U.S. Eastern District Court of Texas against numerous automakers including Hyundai Motor Company, Ford, GM, FCA, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo, and BMW. The technology involved in the lawsuit relates to methods and devices for object detection using electromagnetic waves, broadly applied to vehicles equipped with forward collision prevention functions that incorporate object detection and pedestrian detection systems.

In a similar case, in May of last year, U.S. company Omnitech Partners filed patent infringement lawsuits against automakers such as Toyota, Mazda, Volvo, GM, and Ford concerning software-based driving route provision technology.

Although these two companies are not NPEs, the recent increase in patent litigation cases in the automotive sector has raised concerns that this field could attract the interest of NPEs. An industry insider stated, "Since the autonomous driving sector extensively applies convergent information communication and computing technologies, the likelihood of it becoming a target for patent litigation could increase accordingly."