DOCOMO Grants Standard Essential Patent License to Samsung

NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that it has reached an agreement to grant a patent license covering DOCOMO’s standard essential patents*1 including 5G to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. As part of the agreement, Samsung is to pay licensing fees to DOCOMO.

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 realize 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 standardization of advanced mobile communication technologies such as 5G, 5G Evolution and 6G, and license its cellular wireless standard essential patents.

Please refer to the patent licensing of DOCOMO:
https://www.docomo.ne.jp/english/corporate/technology/ipr/

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 February 28, 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.

NTT DOCOMO, Japan’s leading mobile operator with over 86 million subscriptions, is one of the world’s foremost contributors to 3G, 4G and 5G mobile network technologies. Beyond core communications services, DOCOMO is challenging new frontiers in collaboration with a growing number of entities ("+d" partners), creating exciting and convenient value-added services that change the way people live and work. Under a medium-term plan toward 2020 and beyond, DOCOMO is pioneering a leading-edge 5G network to facilitate innovative services that will amaze and inspire customers beyond their expectations.
https://www.docomo.ne.jp/english/