South Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) today announced that it generated 50.2 billion won (approximately USD 33.9 million) in licensing revenue last year from its standard-essential patent (SEP) portfolio.
This marks ETRI’s highest annual SEP licensing revenue to date, contributing to a cumulative total of 131.3 billion won (USD 88.9 million) over the past three years.
In a press release, ETRI said that most of this licensing revenue related to patents covering next-generation communication technologies and immersive media.
Among other 2025 figures ETRI announced today:
- 97 of its patents were newly adopted as essential to international standards, bringing its total number of SEPs to 1,312.
- 92 contributions or revisions were made to international standards based on its technologies.
- It secured 22 new chair positions within international standards organizations.
In terms of standard-setting activities, ETRI submitted contributions relating to 5G-Advanced and 6G technologies in fields including network intelligence and automation, wireless access technology, and interference management. It also contributed to emerging standardization in immersive media technologies such as extended reality (XR), metaverse, and spatial computing.
Other areas of R&D mentioned as being a focus for ETRI include AI safety and testing.
“International standards are no longer merely criteria for explaining technology, but rather a domain that designs the way technology is utilized and shapes the order of the market,” said ETRI President Bang Seung-chan, according to the press release. “ETRI will proactively respond to changes in the global competitive environment by organically securing standards, patents, and international standardization leadership.”
ETRI has also been increasingly enforcing its patents internationally. Earlier this year it sued Facebook parent Meta in Germany and at the Unified Patent Court (UPC) (January 26, 2026 ip fray article) over alleged infringement of media-related patents. It has also asserted video codec patents against Hisense and Transsion at the UPC (August 18, 2025 ip fray article).