Samsung to Share Its Technology Patents with Smaller Firms for Free

According to a new report, Samsung Electronics will share its royalty-free patents with smaller firms. The industry ministry of South Korea said that this move will help achieve the objective of achieving shared growth. The South Korean giant will let smaller firms use its 123 patent technologies.

These 123 patent technologies are spread across various sectors, including semiconductors, displays, and mobile devices. This would allow smaller firms from different sectors to use and build upon the patented technologies of Samsung in their respective industries. Over 86 smaller firms can use Samsung’s 123 royalty-free patents, as reported by the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy.

This initiative is in line with the government-launched tech-sharing program in 2013. As a part of this program, over 33 conglomerates and state-run companies have shared 2,979 patents with 1,416 smaller firms. Samsung joined this program in 2015, and since then, it has shared 1,082 patents with 588 firms.

On Tuesday, Samsung signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the industry ministry and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology on Tuesday that promotes a win-win industry ecosystem through technology sharing. Senior ministry official Hwang Soo-seong said, “This program has and will serve as a good chance for smaller companies to upgrade their tech competitiveness.“