Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) more than a dozen automakers, including Toyota and Nissan, have recently signed up for a platform called Avanci to license communications patents from 51 technology companies, in an effort to simplify the use of wireless technology and avoid expensive lawsuits.

Through the independent licensing market Avanci, carmakers can obtain patents for 2G, 3G and 4G technologies from companies such as Finland's Nokia, Sweden's Ericsson and Taiwan's Acer for everything from navigation systems to self-driving sensors.

Avanci charges a flat fee of $20 per car, which is $5 higher than the previous $15 after this month's price increase, which is distributed by patent holders.

Mark Durrant, vice president of Avanci, said in an interview that new signatures include Renault, Stellantis and Honda, meaning that 80-85 per cent of cars that support 2G or higher communications technology are licensed through the platform.

This model allows carmakers to avoid similar royalty disputes between smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung and telecoms companies, which obtain licenses through one-on-one negotiations.

"the car market is so fragmented that it is not worth negotiating with each participant for the patentee," said an industry insider. " This is a question of efficiency.

There have been many such patent fee disputes, and Mercedes-Benz ended a years-long patent dispute with Nokia last year and was eventually forced to pay royalties. Volkswagen was sued by Acer for using its 4G technology without a license, and Volkswagen signed a settlement with Avanci, which covers Acer's patents, in March.

CTOnews.com has learned that Avanci is also working with companies to sign new contracts covering 5G patents, which could be more expensive than the current patent portfolio.

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