This study forms part of a wider research piece ‘Can the UK win the global R&D race?‘. Material is available to re-publish, with credit (including link) to Source Advisors. This report was published on 29 July 2024. Please get in touch for additional information.
Telecommunication technology has transformed the way we connect, communicate, and conduct business in the modern world. From the invention of the telegraph to the rise of 5G networks, the evolution of telecommunication has been marked by groundbreaking innovations. These technologies enable the instant transmission of voice, data, and video across vast distances, breaking down geographical barriers and fostering global connectivity. In an era where data is king, telecommunication systems form the backbone of our digital infrastructure, supporting everything from personal communication and entertainment to critical services and industrial operations.
Technology from this industry is often developed and integrated into devices from a variety of sectors such as automotive, computer technology, mobile phones and more.
Patent filings are a good indicator of technological growth. Usually, an inventor will file a patent application to protect and commercialise their technology. Granted patents offer the owner rights to stop others from exploiting the patented technology (use, sell, make, distribute) for up to 20 years. To qualify for patent protection, the technology must be novel and considered inventive according to local patent law. Usually, only one patent is granted per invention and therefore the number of patent applications is an indicator of the number of proposed inventions for a given technology area.
Figure 1 explores growth in patent filings for telecoms technologies since 2010. Innovative activity has grown by 382% between 2010 and 2022 and is projected for continued growth of approx. 34% between 2022 and 2026. The numbers show that this is a high growth sector and given the globalised nature of the technology, the opportunity for development and commercialisation is high.
Figure 1. Volume of patents filed within the telecoms sector from 2010-2024 and projected growth figures for 2024-2026.
Geographic breakdown of telecoms patents
Given that patent applications are territorial, we can trace back the origins of a technology by the first (priority) filing within a patent family. For reference, a patent family usually relates to a single invention and the family members are represented by the number of countries (foreign filings) that invention has. Usually, the first filing is made in the country of origin and the chart below (Fig.2) shows the percentage (%) share of territories where first filings are made for inventions within the automotive industry. This chart illustrates all filings made from 2010 onwards that are granted and active or currently patent pending, therefore excluding any expired or lapsed patents or patent applications.
The figures show that the US, China, Japan, Korea and Germany have the largest share of patent filings globally. Ultimately, this suggests that the above mentioned countries are the most active at developing telecoms technologies and seeking patent protection for them. The act of doing so enables the owners within those countries greater chance of monopolising their inventions and ultimately commercialising it in a way that they can control. Given that telecoms generally promote global connectivity and connectivity between devices, it is required for key technologies that relate to a global standard (such as 5G) be available to all within the supply chain. Therefore, patents in this sector are usually licenced out to implementers of the technology (device manufacturers, automotive manufacturers etc..) for a fair and reasonable fee.
The UK again appears 8th out of the top 10 filers, indicating that the UK has some strength in this area but there is potentially more work to be done to position the UK as the world leader.
Figure 2. Geographic breakdown by percentage share of patent filings for the telecoms industry between 2010-2024.
All patent applications are tagged with technology indicators to categorise filings by its constituent technologies. I say technologies, rather than technology, because it is very common for a patent application to have more than one technology indicator. Usually new technologies are born from a mix of existing technologies or at least are classified to a certain discipline of science and technology.
Given that patents are classified in this way, it is possible to search and filter for patents that contain technologies related to the telecoms industry. The chart below (Fig.3) illustrates the key technologies that have dominated patent filings over the past 14 years. Data processing, transmission and wireless communication all dominate the landscape and not surprisingly so. Key problems within the sector over the past decade (and will likely continue for the next decade) are the speed of processing, downloading and uploading data, the range and speed of wireless data transmission, and public connectivity to fast broadband and mobile signals. Given that these problems are issues felt globally, solution providers are providing products and services in multiple territories. Now, varying environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and frequency of natural weather events can all pose different challenges.
Figure 3. Technology breakdown by percentage share of patent filings since 2010.
To give a view of what countries are leading filing activity to drive innovation for a more digital world, figure 4 maps the technologies as described in figure 3 against the countries where the largest number of patent filings originated from.
The chart shows that China and US are very much the two dominant countries and are key drivers in filings for digital data processing, transmission and energy efficiency. Qualcomm, IBM and Huawei are key contributors driving the US and Chinese filings. When removing the Chinese and US contribution – Korea, Japan, Europe and India are all large contributors with Samsung, LG, Canon, Sony, Ericsson and Tata all with influence in developing technologies in those territories.
Figure 4. Technology breakdown by origin country for the telecoms industry.
From a UK lens, figure 5 shows the UK’s contribution is very much in line with the global picture but at a smaller scale. UK activity is driven by BT and NChain and the chart below shows that the majority of filings relate to digital transmission technology.
Now, the metrics within this article favour patent volume and filing volume is not a direct indicator of patent quality. There are indicators, such as forward citations, that are used to measure patent quality, however, it is less likely for a recently granted patent (< 2years) to receive forward citations than an older patent that is active for 10+ years. Though, what can be determined from patent volume is the volume of ideas originating from regions across the globe and a sense for how important patent protection may be for some countries compared to others.
Figure 5. Technology breakdown by volume of filings originating from the UK for the telecoms industry.
About Akshay Thaman | IP Consultant & Policy Lead
Akshay works closely with Source Advisors’ clients to uncover IP that may be hidden within their businesses. As a Member of the British Patent Information Professionals group (BPIP) he brings academic rigour and commercial experience to his role as IP Consultant & Policy Lead.
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Data collection for this report was conducted on 21 June 2024 for patents filed from 1 January 2010 onwards. This report analyses filings that are either granted and active or currently patent pending, therefore excluding any expired or lapsed patents or patent applications. Read our full report ‘A focus on key technologies – how does the UK compare to other global leaders?‘.
