Context: Since its launch in August 2023, Avanci’s 5G automotive standard-essential patent (SEP) licensing program has steadily grown its list of licensed brands, such as with the Volkswagen brand taking a license for all of its brands (February 20, 2024 ip fray article). To date, no Avanci licensor has brought any litigation over 5G SEPs against an automotive brand.
What’s new: The president of Avanci’s vehicle licensing programs, Laurie Fitzgerald, has just announced on LinkedIn that Volvo and Polestar, “long-time participants in [Avanci’s] 4G Vehicle licensing program, [joined] as new 5G Vehicle licensees.”
Direct impact: Avanci 5G’s webpage already lists those brands, and the total number of licensed brands is now 27. Not all automotive brands implement 5G yet. Among those who do, Avanci’s share appears very high.
Wider ramifications: Avanci continues to deliver evidence that collective licensing through pools can help reduce the need for litigation.
Avanci 5G now has licensees in all European regions where there are major car makers: from the south (SEAT) to the north (Volvo), and in the center (with all German automakers on board). With Ford and General Motors, two iconic American car makers have also joined. At least one unnamed Chinese car maker has taken a bilateral SEP license from Nokia, which could be a sign of increased licensing activity on the part of Chinese automotive companies that should sooner or later also be reflected on Avanci’s list of licensed brands.
Avanci’s previous vehicle licensing program, Avanci 4G, reached a very high degree of market penetration. There weren’t many patent disputes around Avanci 4G if one considers the long list of licenses concluded without any litigation. But some Avanci licensors enforced 4G SEPs against car makers that, to the extent the cases came to judgment, were deemed unwilling licensees by the courts of law. Avanci 5G has now added 27 car brands to its program without an Avanci 5G licensor having filed a single 5G SEP enforcement action against a car maker. (Oddly, the only litigation related to Avanci 5G was brought by a car maker, Tesla, at a time when Tesla isn’t even making any 5G cars yet. (January 3, 2024 ip fray article))