Patents are the lifeblood of the technology industry. Used to power innovation, used defensively, even used offensively in some cases, the uses for patents are diverse in scope and dramatic in number. Recently we saw some of those uses in action as Lenovo reached a deal valued at $100 million in cash with the firm Unwired Planet, taking on an entire portfolio of patents from the company.
The patent portfolio in question covered fully 21 different patent families, and covered not only current technologies like 3G and LTE connectivity, but also a set of other mobility charters as well. The agreement's terms, meanwhile, call for not only that hefty cash payment, but that Lenovo is licensed to said portfolio for a number of years, the exact number of which weren't disclosed. The transaction is expected to be concluded in 30 days.
This is only the most recent patent move that Lenovo has made in recent days, with Lenovo recently acquiring Motorola Mobility in a deal valued at $2.91 billion. This in turn is suggested to be part of Lenovo's increasing moves made in the mobility sector, where Lenovo was recently seen out at the Mobile World Congress event showing off several new models, particularly an updated Yoga Tablet 10 HD+ that boasted a “multi-mode usage” system. Additionally, Lenovo's been bringing out quite the mobile arsenal, including the Vibe lineup. Lenovo's general counsel Jay Clemens called the deal “...an extension of Lenovo's existing intellectual property portfolio,” and a move that will “...serve the company well as we grow and develop our worldwide smartphone and mobile PC Plus business in new markets.”
Unwired Planet, meanwhile, is well known for its lawsuits against both Apple and Google back in 2012, in which Unwired Planet claimed infringement had occurred on fully 20 of the company's patents related to a variety of technologies including push notifications, mapping and advertising functions that used location mapping, and several others.
This looks like a good opportunity for both firms, as Lenovo gets access to a substantial patent catalog while Unwired Planet gets access to a major payday by most any standard. Since Lenovo has already been seen moving in the mobile space, this could provide a particularly good opportunity for the company to gain some further advantage in that space, bringing out new products beyond the impressive lineup already brought forth so far. Note also the remarks from earlier, specifically those related to “...our worldwide smartphone and mobile PC Plus business...”. It could be that there was something contained in the Unwired Planet patent portfolio that could put some extra punch under those two parts of Lenovo's wider market.
Just what parts of Unwired Planet's patent portfolio drew Lenovo's interest isn't clear, so we'll all have to wait to see just how Lenovo puts this new array of patents to work. There are certainly plenty of possibilities to emerge here, especially given Lenovo's focus on mobile of late, so it's definitely a field to keep an eye on as big change may well be ultimately afoot.
Edited by
Rory J. Thompson 
QUICK LINKS 
