LG Electronics recently focused heavily on purchasing patents from outside sources. In 2014, they purchased 100 patents, which is the largest number from past 10 years (2005~2014). This shows that while they preferred to apply and register their own patents in the past, now they expanded their patent strategy to outside sources too.

According to IPnomics report ‘What is LG electronics planning?’ which is published by ETRC and Patentpia (Representative Kang Min Soo), LG purchased 100 patents last year, 70 of them being interactive video distribution systems patents. Considering that LG only purchased 410 patents in the past 10 years, buying 100 patents in a year is unprecedented for LG.

Two-way video system analysis offers two-way TV and VoD service, which also includes streaming, interface, home network monitoring, synchronization, and various other skills. Besides this, they also increased their patent purchase in Data Processing in Vehicles and Data Processing in Measuring, which directly shows new field that LG is focused on.

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By looking at patent amount, one can see that LG Electronics usually stuck to their technical development. LG only bought around 410 patents out of 13,600 patents, which is about only 3%, in the past 10 years. It’s only half of how much Samsung bought (6.4%), and this means that LG usually applies and registers their patents on their own.

However LG recently shows different side by increasing their patent purchase. They show steep increasing in purchase by going from buying 7 patents in 2012 to 85 in 2013, and around 100 in 2014. They purchased 41 image analysis patents, but they shifted their gears to buying two-way video analysis system patents.

LG purchased around 10 patents in addition in TV, digital communications, discharge lamp, and computer graphics. However their patent purchase in TV, discharge lamp, and digital logic circuit, which LG steadily bought, were stopped after 2011.

※ Detailed information can be checked on IPnomix homepage (http://www.ipnomics.co.kr)

Staff Reporter Lee, KangWook | wook@etnews.com