Seoul Semiconductor to auction 198 patents related to 5G, high power LED

South Korea’s light-emitting diode (LED) maker Seoul Semiconductor Co. will auction its two patent portfolios for radio frequency (RF) semiconductors and high power LEDs through Germany’s licensing platform GoodIP, the company announced Tuesday.

The company will put total 198 patents up for two bidding rounds, with the first to be held for 98 patent assets related to RF semiconductors used for 5G network. They include rights developed by Sensor Electronic Technology Inc. (SETi), a U.S. ultraviolet LED company acquired by Seoul Semiconductor’s subsidiary Seoul Viosys in 2015, with an investment of more than 120 billion won ($102 million), and 55 rights registered in the U.S. Three of them are licensed to the U.S. Army and Air Force.

In the second auction, it will place 100 patent assets related to smart and high power lights including patents for smartphone cameras and licenses registered in foreign nations such as the U.S., Europe, China and Japan.

Seoul Semiconductor said it chose GoodIP, Germany’s intellectual property transaction firm, as its auction platform due to its ample experience in auction sales of IP rights related to LEDs. “As a new strategy, we will sell a part of our patent rights to companies that are not in rivalry with us to use the proceeds in research and development,” Seoul Semiconductor CEO Lee Jeong-hoon said.

Seoul Semiconductor is the world’s second largest LED manufacturer and holds more than 14,000 patents on related technologies. It produces LEDs for various industries including automotive, general illumination and tech sectors.

The company recently won in a six-year-long lawsuit with Japanese lens maker Enplas Display Device in the U.S. as the Federal Circuit affirmed Enplas’ induced infringement on Seoul Semiconductor’s patents.

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