DOCOMO grants standard essential patent license to Samsung

DOCOMO has been actively involved in the research and development of mobile network related technologies such as W-CDMA, LTE, LTE-Advanced, 5G and 6G, and new service-related technologies, to realise its ultimate goal of enhancing mobile experiences for customers.

DOCOMO has also been applying for patents on these technologies, resulting in its ownership of some 10,000 standard essential patents for mobile communications(2). In turn, DOCOMO has licensed its cellular wireless standard essential patents to more than 80 companies, including those in patent pools(3) as well as through bilateral agreements.

Going forward, DOCOMO will continue to promote research and development as well as to contribute standardisation of advanced mobile communication technologies such as 5G, 5G Evolution and 6G, and license its cellular wireless standard essential patents.

(1) Patents that must be necessarily infringed without a license from the patentee to manufacture, sale, use, or otherwise practice any product which complies with the relevant industry standard.
(2) Worldwide total (as of 28th February 2023) of registered patents and patent applications in the patent families that have been declared essential to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). A patent family is a group of patents and patent applications covering the same technical content and have been filed in multiple countries having exactly the same priority or combination of priorities based on a patent application(s).
(3) Agreements between two or more patent owners to license their patents to one another and/or to third parties relating to a particular technology.