How licensing drives our business

Our licensing, across a range of sectors, begins with our foundational research. InterDigital invests significantly in the research and development of innovations which are foundational to digital wireless communications, advanced video, AI and other technologies.

These foundational technologies are at the core of wireless and video products, systems and services that benefit entire industries such as smartphones, consumer electronics (such as TVs, other displays, set-top boxes and PCs), automotive and video streaming.

Many of these technological advances are declared essential or potentially essential to wireless standards such as 5G and Wi-Fi, and video decoding standards such as HEVC.

Global standards benefit those companies which implement standardized technologies in their products through lower barriers to entry, greater economies of scale and improved interoperability. For example, standards ensure that your smartphone can connect to the network wherever you are in the world. Our research also benefits those companies that implement standardized technologies in their products and services by allowing them to focus on what they do best such as product development. These advantages benefit consumers who, in turn, enjoy more advanced devices and services from standards-based technologies.

Many other parts of our research are focused on non-standardized technologies which manufacturers implement in their products and services. These include innovations that enhance video quality, deliver advanced haptics technology, help to mitigate energy usage in connected devices, and improve the consumer experience on video streaming services.

By licensing our patented innovations to product manufacturers and service providers we support the proliferation of more advanced technologies. We then re-invest the revenue we generate from our licensing into our research, perpetuating a cycle of innovation.

As an innovator and a contributing participant in the wireless, video and AI industries, InterDigital respects the important role that intellectual property policies play in the development of technologies that drive the connected world around us. As such, InterDigital honors its commitments under the applicable IP rights (IPR) policies of the standards-development organizations of which we are a member. We are also passionate supporters of fair and balanced IP rights which provide the right incentives to innovators like InterDigital and ensure that our innovation is widely implemented.

Our research requires years of investment, deep technical expertise, industry knowledge and plenty of foresight to understand which technologies will be implemented in consumer devices and services in years to come.

Through our patent licensing programs we can continue to innovate today and empower tomorrow's connected world.