Published: May, 2018
Publisher: Who’s Who Legal (WWL)
In the 2G era of wireless telecommunications (1990s and early 2000s) we saw huge collaborative advances in technology, with each contributor building on the work of others. But there was comparatively little patent litigation. Each technology developer wanted its competitors to pay when they used its technology. But each technology developer also needed to use its competitors’ technology to build its own devices. So both sides had an incentive to reach agreement, and each had something to trade.
From 2006 to 2012, 3G cellular networks started to make wireless data as fast as a desktop internet connection. Three industries converged. One industry was the traditional mobile phone industry. The other two were the computer and consumer electronics industries. These industries made products that worked better when they could use the wireless connectivity of the mobile phones: cameras, media players, and personal digital assistants. These became a single device: the smartphone.