Improved IP awareness is leading to greater engagement – and licence deals – for Sisvel Cellular IoT 

By Sven Torringer, Cellular IoT Programme Manager 

The Sisvel Cellular IoT patent pool is at an inflection point. Momentum is building, deals are being closed and businesses across the supply chain are engaging with a new level of urgency. After years of groundwork and investment, the market is beginning to wake up to the importance of patent licensing and the strong value proposition offered by the programme we have put together. 

The smaller players which dominate the IoT market are increasingly interested in our licence offering. This comes as a result of learning about the serious legal issues they are exposed to without having obtained the necessary licences in this area.  

We have agreed deals with a wide range of IoT companies, from SMEs with only a handful of employees to multinationals with hundreds of millions in annual revenue. They sell licensed products across different verticals including smart meters, smart sensors and other IoT devices. All enjoy the transparent terms offered by Sisvel’s programme, and every agreement has been negotiated amicably. 

Notably, we have also entered into a second module maker deal, enabling an Asian manufacturer to offer end-product licenses to its customers. This builds on the groundbreaking framework we unveiled last year with Nordic Semiconductor. There is significant interest from other entities in this area, and we are optimistic we will see this model extended to other responsible suppliers in the near future.  

These breakthroughs are the product of a large-scale effort to raise IP awareness among users of NB-IoT and LTE-M technologies and to let them know that there is an efficient, transparent licensing solution in the space.   

Among other things, we invested significant time and money to launch a website (www.iotpatentpool.com) and an educational programme that has generated hundreds of thousands of impressions on platforms like LinkedIn. We have also spoken up about the misleading terms in many IoT indemnity agreements that give the false impression that IoT companies’ exposure to patent risk is covered.   

We are grateful for the continued support of the 30+ patent owners who participate in the Sisvel cellular IoT pool. It’s always been clear that licensing this market would require a fresh approach. The programme is helping to create an entirely new toolbox for patent licensing in the IoT space and the lessons we are learning along the way will be critical in extending the Inventive Loop to more and more technologies and verticals. 

Stay tuned for much more. 

Sven Torringer is Programme Manager of Sisvel Cellular IoT