Near Field Communication

Near Field Communication Research Study with IP Analysis & Mapping w w w. l e g a l a d v a n t a g e. n e t

Contents Introduction History Patent analytics Market Litigations License agreements Applications Key components Alternatives Patent Analysis - Strategy 2

NFC - Near Field Communication Near field communication (NFC) Two compatible devices with in a distance of four to five centimeters to exchange data and share information using electromagnetic radio fields; contrary to far field communication which operates across great distances Working For two devices to communicate using NFC, one must have NFC reader/writer and the other must have an NFC tag. First device sends out radio frequency signals that interact with an NFC tag found in compatible second device The signal creates a current that flows through the NFC tag and allows the device and the tag to communicate with one another. A device with NFC reader can also have a NFC tag to send information and similarly a device with NFC tag can also have a NFC reader to read the information. 3

Timeline 1997 First patent (WO9723060) assigned to Andrew White and Marc Borrett 2002 Technical outline created by Sony and Philips 2003 ISO/IEC standard and ECMA standard 2004 Nokia, Philips and Sony established the NFC Forum 2010 NFC for mobile phones 2011 Google I/O demonstrated "How to NFC to show how to share a game, a contact, URL, app or video Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/near_field_communication 4

Timeline continued 2011 Paypass service by MasterCard for research in motion devices 2012 NFC-enabled smartposter by UK restaurant chain EAT and Everything Everywhere 2013 Samsung and VISA announced their partnership to develop mobile payments Softcard mobile wallet by AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. 2014 Apple pay 2015 Google s Android Pay Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/near_field_communication 5

Patent Analysis Strategy 6

Key components of NFC Component Tag Reader Antenna Controller Secure element Description Device for storing information Device for reading information from tag Device for transmitting/receiving data Device for controlling communication between NFC devices Device for securing user information, e.g. credit card data 7

Patenting Activity - Publication trend Publications have seen an exponential growth in the recent years. In 2016, 8467 patent families have been published. 8467 7793 6106 4157 2159 573 764 967 1136 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 8

Patenting Activity Major players Samsung holds majority of the patent families in the application area of NFC, followed by Sony Broadcom, NXP, Qualcomm hold patents related to manufacturing methods of NFC controller, NFC antenna, secure elements etc. 624 339 175 188 197 199 232 235 264 265 Google Inc NXP BV Blackberry Ltd Qualcomm Inc ZTE Corp Research In Motion Ltd Canon Inc Sony Corp LG Samsung Electronics Electronics Co Ltd Co Ltd 9

Patenting Activity - Geographical Distribution Code AU IN CA DE JP EP WO KR US CN Country Australia India Canada Germany Japan Europe WIPO/PCT Korea United Stated of America China Majority patents are filed in China, Asia appears to be growing fast in NFC domain followed by USA, Europe, Canada and Australia. Surprisingly Great Britain is not in top 10. 10

Patenting Activity - Top CPC codes 2500 2114 2000 1500 1000 500 577 826 955 1046 Patents with NFC communication are highest followed by patents with mobile payments using NFC. 0 Class Definition Class Definition H04W 4/008 Using short range communication, e.g. NFC, RFID or PAN H04W 12/06 Authentication G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices H04M 1/7253 Using a two-way shortrange wireless interface H04B 5/0031 For data transfer 11

Sample patent analysis 12

Major players and Market forecast As of 2013, NXP dominates the NFC chip market with a market share of 59 percent. Broadcom accounts for one-third of the market. The global near field communication (NFC) market size was valued at USD 4.80 billion in 2015 and expected to reach close to USD 50 billion in 2024. The decreasing prices of NFC chips and growing in huge increase mobile phone transactions are some of the major factors driving the NFC market around the world. 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 47.7 38.4 32.5 26 21.8 16.6 12.5 9.8 7.7 3.5 4.8 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Source: https://www.reference.com/business-finance/lucrative-nfc-companies-b59ad89479503d7b# http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/near-field-communication-nfc-market 13

Recent patent litigations and licensing In January 2015, NXP Semiconductors has filed a patent infringement suit against rival chip maker Marvell, claiming that the NFC chips supplied by Marvell to Microsoft for use in the Xbox One video gaming console infringe four of NXP patents. The patents-in-suit are US Patent Numbers 5,939,791; 7,039,133; 8,185,050; and 8,203,432 On November 14 th, 2016, France Brevets Licensed NFC Patents to HTC In May 2016, France Brevets Licensed NFC Patents to Samsung In March 2016, France Brevets Licensed NFC Patents to Sony In 2014, France Brevets Licensed NFC Patents to LG. Source: https://www.nfcworld.com/2015/01/28/333758/nxp-sues-marvell-xbox-nfc-chips/ 14

Applications Digital payment and NFC tags NFC for Payment Point of Sale Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Apple are investing heavily in NFC technology. Google Wallet and Apple s implementation of tap-to-pay technology in its iphones through Apple Pay are a boost to online transactions using NFC. Payment systems based on NFC are more secure and seen as potential replacement for credit cards. Source: http://www.nxp.com NFC for Business Brand protection Smart Media & Products Smart manufacturing Smart advertising Source: http://www.nxp.com 15

Applications Security and Internet of Things (IoT) NFC for Identification E-locks User identification (This can replace ID cards and passports) egovernment NFC for Home appliances and entertainment Board games, video games, smart toys PCs and laptops Set-top box Appliances Source: http://www.nxp.com Source: http://www.nxp.com 16

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