Author : Astitva Raj Sharma, BBMKU Law College Dhanbad
Introduction
The global spread of 5G isn’t just about faster internet or less lag. It’s actually changing how important patents called standard essential patents work in our connected world. Now that billions of devices are talking to each other over 5G, the old ways of handling patent licenses are facing new and tough challenges. Lawyers, policymakers, and business leaders need to pay close attention.
This change is huge. While older mobile networks mostly connected phones and tablets, 5G links everything from cars and medical devices to factory machines, smart home gadgets, and all sorts of “smart” products12. Because of this, many companies that never had to think about patent licensing before are suddenly dealing with complicated rules set by big telecom companies that have spent years building up their patent collections.
The numbers show just how big this is. As of December 2024, there are over 53,000 declared 5G patent families, up from about 19,000 in 20203. But here’s the catch: studies say only about 41% of these patents are truly needed for 5G to work3. This “over-declaration” makes things tricky for both patent owners who want to earn money from their inventions and for companies trying to figure out what licenses they actually need.
The Evolving Landscape of 5G Patent Ownership
The race to own 5G patents is about much more than business. it’s also about which countries and companies will shape the future of global communication. Right now, Huawei holds the most declared 5G patents at 14.59%, followed by Qualcomm with 10.04% and Samsung with 8.80%4. This isn’t just a numbers game; it shows who will have the biggest say in setting the rules for how we all connect in the coming years.
When just a few companies own most of the important patents, it can be a double-edged sword. On the positive side, these big players can help set strong standards and push innovation forward. But it also means they have a lot of power, which can make it harder for smaller companies to compete or join the market.
It’s also important to remember that not all patents are equal. While Huawei has the most, Qualcomm’s patents are often considered more valuable when you look at their impact, not just their quantity. This difference between having a lot of patents and having high-quality patents matters a lot when companies sit down to negotiate licensing deals and set fair prices.
Finally, where these patents come from tells us a lot about global priorities. Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE have large patent portfolios because of big investments from both the government and private sector5. Qualcomm in the U.S. keeps its edge through ongoing innovation and smart patent strategies. In Europe, companies like Ericsson and Nokia rely on their long history in telecom to stay competitive.
Challenges in Traditional FRAND Licensing Models
The 5G spreads into new industries, it’s becoming clear that the old FRAND licensing rules don’t always work well outside telecom. These rules were designed for a world where everyone spoke the same technical language and had long-standing business relationships. Now, 5G is showing up in cars, hospitals, factories, and home gadgets, bringing in companies that have never had to deal with these kinds of patent deals before.
Take car makers, for example. As cars get connected with 5G, traditional auto companies suddenly have to negotiate with telecom patent owners. The way these telecom companies handle licenses and set royalty prices can seem confusing or even unfair to automakers, whose businesses work very differently. That’s why groups like the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association are asking for more openness from patent pools like Avanci, wanting to know exactly which patents are included and how prices are set6.
But the challenges go deeper than just being new to the process. Every industry has its own way of doing business, its own rules, and its own competition. What works for smartphone companies might not make sense for a medical device maker or a factory equipment supplier. Because of this, licensing deals need to be more flexible and tailored, rather than sticking to the old, one-size-fits-all approach.
Things get even more complicated because different countries have their own ideas about what “fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory” licensing actually means. Courts around the world have tried to define these terms, but there’s still a lot of disagreement7. This makes things uncertain for both the companies that own patents and those that need licenses, especially when their deals have to work across many countries with different laws and rules.
Global Jurisdictional Competition in Rate Setting
A big change in SEP licensing lately is that courts in different countries are now stepping in to set global FRAND rates. This started with UK courts and has now spread to places like China and India89. While this gives companies more choices about where to go for decisions on rates, it also makes the whole process more complicated and strategic for everyone involved.
China’s involvement is especially important. In the Nokia v. Oppo case, a Chinese court set global FRAND rates for the first time, with different rates for developed and developing countries. For example, for 4G patents, the court set a rate of $0.477 per unit in China and other less developed places, and $0.777 per unit in more developed places. For 5G patents, the rates were $0.707 per unit in less developed areas and $1.151 per unit in developed ones9.
Setting different rates based on geography is a big change from how things were done before and raises questions about how global licensing will work in the future. The European Commission has even taken this issue to the World Trade Organization, arguing that China’s approach puts pressure on European tech companies to lower their rates everywhere, which could go against international trade rules. This shows how patent licensing is now closely tied to global trade policy10.
With more courts around the world making these decisions, both patent owners and companies that need licenses have new opportunities and risks. Some might try to pick courts they think will favor them, but they also risk getting stuck with decisions from courts in other countries that they don’t like. This situation pushes everyone to settle disputes sooner, but it also means that the cases that do go to court are likely to be more complicated and expensive.
Patent Pools as Emerging Solutions
Patent pools have emerged as one of the most promising mechanisms for addressing the complexities of 5G licensing across diverse industry sectors. These collaborative licensing arrangements allow multiple patent holders to offer their standard essential patents through a single license, significantly reducing transaction costs and administrative burdens for implementers11. The success of this approach is evidenced by Avanci’s 4G vehicle program, which has licensed more than 130 million vehicles from over 80 companies12.
The launch of Avanci’s 5G automotive licensing program in 2023 represents a significant milestone in expanding patent pool approaches to new technology generations12. With 58 standard essential patent holders participating from launch, the program demonstrates the potential for patent pools to scale effectively as technology complexity increases12. The program’s coverage extends beyond 5G to include 4G, 3G, and 2G patents, as well as Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything technology that enables direct communication between vehicles and infrastructure12.
However, patent pools also face significant challenges in maintaining transparency and ensuring fair licensing terms. The automotive industry’s concerns about Avanci’s transparency reflect broader questions about how patent pools can balance efficiency with accountability6. Implementers need sufficient information about which patents are included in pool licenses and how royalty rates are calculated to make informed decisions about whether to accept pool licenses or negotiate bilateral agreements with individual patent holders.
The European Commission’s review of SEP regulation, although ultimately withdrawn, highlighted the importance of transparency in patent pool operations. The proposed regulation would have established mandatory SEP registration and essentiality assessment procedures that could have provided greater clarity about which patents are truly essential to implementing standards6. While these specific proposals were abandoned due to lack of consensus, the underlying concerns about transparency and fair licensing practices remain relevant to patent pool operations.
Different patent pools have adopted varying approaches to these challenges. Sisvel’s 5G Multimode program offers licenses to 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G standard essential patents from a consortium of patent holders, emphasizing efficient and transparent licensing under fair and reasonable terms13. This diversity in patent pool structures and approaches provides implementers with options while encouraging competition and innovation in licensing mechanisms.
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Technology Evolution
Bringing artificial intelligence into patent analysis and licensing talks is both exciting and tricky for 5G SEP licensing. AI tools can quickly sort through huge numbers of patents to find the ones that really matter and help companies understand their licensing positions14. This is especially helpful because there are so many 5G patents, and figuring out which ones are truly essential is complicated.
But using AI in this space also brings up concerns. People worry about whether AI is accurate, if its decisions are transparent, and who is responsible if something goes wrong. Right now, AI is not perfect at telling which patents are essential, so it can’t fully replace human experts. In fact, a study by the European Commission found that current AI just isn’t reliable enough for these important decisions.
Still, AI is improving fast, and in the future, it could make licensing smoother and clearer for everyone. If AI gets better, it might help reduce arguments over which patents are essential and make negotiations between companies more straightforward.
Meanwhile, work on 6G technology is already starting, and it’s likely that even smarter AI will play a bigger role. As 6G brings in things like virtual reality and advanced automation, the challenges around patents and licensing will keep evolving, building on what’s happening with 5G today15.
Industry-Specific Licensing Challenges and Solutions
As 5G spreads into more industries, it’s clear that licensing rules can’t be one-size-fits-all. For example, car makers face unique challenges because their profit margins are lower and their products last much longer than phones. A royalty fee that’s minor for a phone can be a big deal for a car part. Plus, 5G is just one feature in a car, not the main selling point, so it’s harder to include those costs in the final price.
Healthcare brings its own set of issues. Medical devices using 5G have to pass strict safety checks and regulations, which can slow down innovation and make it harder to afford new products. Licensing deals that work for everyday gadgets might not fit when people’s health is on the line.
In factories and industrial settings, 5G is often used in custom solutions, not mass-produced products. Here, traditional licensing models that charge per device might not make sense, since value comes from making operations more efficient, not from selling lots of units.
Patent pools—where companies group their patents together for licensing—can help, but they need to be carefully designed to fit each industry’s needs. The best pools will offer different licensing options for different sectors, making sure everyone’s unique challenges are addressed while still keeping things organized.
Competition Law and Regulatory Considerations
The intersection of competition law and SEP licensing has become increasingly important as 5G technology expands into new markets and jurisdictions. Competition authorities worldwide are examining whether current licensing practices adequately balance innovation incentives with competitive market dynamics. The European Union’s approach, established through cases like Huawei v. ZTE, requires patent holders to follow specific procedures before seeking injunctive relief against implementers16.
These procedures are designed to prevent patent holders from using the threat of injunctions to extract unreasonable licensing terms from implementers. However, they also create compliance burdens for patent holders and may affect their willingness to invest in research and development for future standards. The balance between protecting implementers from hold-up and ensuring that innovators receive appropriate returns on their investments remains a subject of ongoing debate and refinement.
Indian competition authorities are developing their own approaches to SEP licensing, influenced by both EU precedents and domestic policy considerations. Recent decisions by the Delhi High Court reflect an evolving framework that seeks to implement FRAND commitments while addressing local market conditions and development priorities16. However, challenges remain in ensuring consistent application of these principles across different courts and regulatory bodies.
The global nature of 5G technology deployment means that licensing practices in one jurisdiction can affect markets worldwide. Competition authorities are increasingly coordinating their approaches to avoid conflicts and ensure that their policies support rather than hinder technological innovation and deployment. This coordination becomes particularly important as more jurisdictions assert authority over global licensing practices.
Looking Forward: 6G and Beyond
As the telecommunications industry begins planning for 6G technology, lessons learned from 5G licensing experiences will inform the development of new frameworks for managing standard essential patents in future technology generations. The timeline for 6G standardization extends to approximately 2030, providing an opportunity to address current licensing challenges before they become embedded in new technology deployment15.
The 6G development process is expected to follow similar patterns to previous generations, with standard development organizations implementing SEP licensing requirements on FRAND terms17. However, there are opportunities to improve transparency, efficiency, and fairness in these processes based on experience with 5G licensing. Early attention to patent disclosure requirements, essentiality assessment procedures, and licensing framework design could help prevent some of the challenges that have emerged in 5G licensing.
International coordination will be particularly important for 6G given the global nature of mobile communications and the increasing importance of these technologies for economic development and national competitiveness. Standard development organizations, competition authorities, and policymakers will need to work together to establish frameworks that support innovation while ensuring fair access to essential technologies.
The increasing integration of artificial intelligence, edge computing, and other advanced technologies into 6G specifications will create new categories of standard essential patents and licensing considerations. These technologies may require different licensing approaches than traditional telecommunications patents, particularly when they involve integration with other technology standards and industries.
Recommendations for Stakeholders
Patent holders should be open and clear about how they license their patents and manage their portfolios. This means giving straightforward information about which patents are truly essential, what the licensing terms are, and how royalties are calculated. Being transparent like this can help cut down on lawsuits and make working with other companies smoother, leading to better and faster licensing deals.
Those who use these patents implementers should take a proactive approach to handling the risks and opportunities that come with SEP licensing. This means looking at the patent landscape early, having open and productive talks during licensing negotiations, and joining patent pools if it makes sense. Getting involved early can help avoid expensive legal fights and make sure they have the technology they need for their products.
Policymakers should keep working to make SEP licensing rules more consistent across countries. This involves making sure that the way FRAND terms are set, how essential patents are checked, and how competition laws are enforced are all in harmony. When the rules are more alike from place to place, it’s easier for everyone to do business and roll out new technology around the world.
Groups that set technical standards should keep improving their intellectual property rules to fix the issues that have come up with 5G licensing. This means making patent disclosure rules clearer, finding better ways to check if a patent is truly essential, and giving more guidance to patent holders about their FRAND responsibilities.
Conclusion
The way 5G technology is changing standard essential patent licensing brings both big challenges and exciting chances for new ideas, healthy competition, and worldwide access to technology. As cellular networks reach far beyond just phones, we’re seeing that old licensing systems don’t always fit, but this also opens the door to better, clearer ways to handle licensing.
To make the most of these changes, everyone involved—patent owners, companies using the technology, policymakers, and standards groups—needs to work together. The choices we make now about how to license 5G patents will shape how technology is shared and developed for years, even as we move toward 6G and beyond.
New approaches like patent pools, updated rules for fair licensing, and smarter tools for analyzing patents are all helping make licensing more efficient and fair. But to really benefit, we have to keep focusing on being open, working together across countries, and meeting the unique needs of different industries.
As the world relies more and more on digital connections and smart technology, making sure SEP licensing is fair and efficient becomes even more important. The legal and policy decisions we make today about 5G licensing will affect how quickly new ideas can spread and how people everywhere can access technology for decades to come. That’s why it’s so important to get these systems right.
Refrences :-
- https://www.greyb.com/resources/5g-sep-report-2025/
- https://www.lexisnexisip.com/resources/5g-revolution/
- https://www.greyb.com/newsletters/who-leads-5g-in-2025/
- https://www.tavaresoffice.com.br/huawei-leads-the-ranking-of-5g-patents-surpassing-qualcomm-and-samsung/
- https://www.huaweicentral.com/huawei-tops-5g-patents-ranking-while-qualcomm-leads-in-true-value/
- https://www.acea.auto/news/automakers-urge-5g-patent-pool-avanci-to-lead-by-example-in-sep-licensing/
- https://www.fr.com/insights/thought-leadership/blogs/introduction-to-sep-frand-issues/
- https://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20250514-frand-quarterly-navigating-the-global-sep-landscape-may-2025
- https://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20240125-frand-quarterly-navigating-the-global-sep-landscape-january-2024
- https://insight.rpxcorp.com/news/84820-european-commission-targets-china-s-global-frand-rate-setting-practices-in-second-wto-action
- https://www.mondaq.com/india/patent/1547940/the-rise-of-patent-pools-in-the-5g-and-iot-sectors
- https://www.kasznarleonardos.com/en/avanci-launches-5g-standard-essential-patent-licensing-program-for-the-automotive-industry/
- https://www.sisvel.com/licensing-programmes/mobile-communications/5g-multimode/
- https://questel-website.s3.eu-west-3.amazonaws.com/Patently_100_5_G_2025_48690331f5.pdf
- https://www.ericsson.com/en/blog/2024/3/6g-standardization-timeline-and-technology-principles
- https://journal.cdipr.ac.in/index.php/jdipr/article/view/4
- https://cuts-ccier.org/pdf/report-standardising-standard-setting-for-6g.pdf
- https://www.juve-patent.com/sponsored/amar-goussu-staub/frand-licenses-the-legal-and-practical-issues-raised-by-5g/
- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3383745
- https://www.csis.org/blogs/perspectives-innovation/new-sep-powerhouse-how-china-shaping-global-patent-disputes
- https://www.avanci.com/2020/07/29/avanci-launches-5g-licensing-platform-for-the-internet-of-things/
- https://www.lexisnexisip.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/SEP-litigation-trends-_What-does-the-data-say_IPlytics.pdf
- https://images.assettype.com/barandbench/2022-01/f4e05a6e-e94e-46fe-be8f-9b246eab4690/CSRIPR_Internship_Brouchure.pdf
- https://nusrlranchi.ac.in/centres-of-learning/csripr/
- https://ants2024.ieee-ants.org/program/panels/role-patents-and-standards-driving-innovation-next-generation-networks
- https://patentpc.com/blog/5g-and-beyond-patent-considerations-for-next-gen-communication-technologies
- https://www.simplilearn.com/top-technology-trends-and-jobs-article
- https://icrier.org/invict/5GandBeyond.pdf
- https://www.lawctopus.com/call-for-blogs-by-csripr-nusrl-ranchi/
- https://legallyflawless.in/call-for-blogs-on-fintech-law-policy-by-csripr-nusrl-ranchi-submissions-on-rolling-basis/
- https://bloggers.feedspot.com/intellectual_property_blogs/
- https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/bejeap/v25y2025i2p153-176n1001.html
- https://www.livelaw.in/lawschool/call-for-papers/call-for-papers-nusrl-ranchi-dpiit-ipr-chair-csripr-national-workshop-seps-law-school-287485
- https://www.yourlegalcareercoach.com/10-leading-ipr-blogs-to-follow-if-you-are-a-law-student/
- https://parolaanalytics.com/blog/5g-standard-essential-patents/
- https://icrier.org/events/the-value-of-5g/
- https://patentblog.kluweriplaw.com/2025/04/14/the-rise-of-frand-interim-licenses/
- https://nliulawreview.nliu.ac.in/blog/frand-theft-auto-navigating-standard-essential-patents-in-india/
