IoT GUIDE

Developments in the patent ecosystem is not something often covered on IoT ONE but it certainly is an interesting space that gives us a unique lens on the IoT landscape. 

IoT patent filing trends

As seen in the graph above, the number of patents filed has been on a sharp increase in the past few years. In many ways the rise in patent publications correlates with other interesting trends in the IoT space such as the Garter Hype Cycle where many IoT-related technologies like IoT platforms, machine learning, blockchain and autonomous vehicles are in the "peak of inflated expectations" phase. This is the phase where many of these new technologies are in the early stages of implementation and of course prior to implementation companies are likely to move to patent their ideas to give them sizable leverage over other companies who want to use their technology. 

Complexities surrounding IoT patents

IP litigation has its work cut out for it in a field as niche and complicated as the IoT. To make matters worse with technologies like Industrial IoT platforms which rely heavily on interoperability with other OT and IT in order for their successful operation will be a patent infringement nightmare for many companies. According to IP firm Finnegan's partner Kenie Ho and associate Mandy J. Song, Ph.D., “even a small IoT system could have thousands of active patents covering a myriad of features.” 

At the end of the day the tricky nature of IoT patents could have an overall deterrent effect in terms of how many of them are actually litigated upon. Only 1.5% of all patents are litigated, according to a seminal 2000 paper on the subject by Mark Lemley, a law professor at Stanford and those figures could be even lower for the IoT. 

Companies leading the IP charge

The challenging IP landscape hasn't deterred many Industrial IoT heavyweights from staking their claims in the IoT patent race. A study published in 2016 by LexInnova found that chipmakers Qualcomm and Intel were leading in the global IoT patent rankings followed closely by Chinese network-gear maker ZTE who is making a killing in the IoT domain with their 5G and network technology. 

Conclusion

The IoT patent space will continue to heat up as more and more companies jostle to assert their dominance over their niche domains. Author Rob Bloom predicts in his article on IoT IP that IoT IP is going to hit a critical mass and burst into full form and companies begin to reap the potential for tremendous profits.