Continents Battle Over Profits on Connected Cars, Robots

The size and scope of the tech industry’s first worldwide patent war, the one over smartphones, may be dwarfed by battles on several continents over who profits from connected cars , smart homes, and robotic surgery.

Automakers are now in court challenging some of the same firms that phone manufacturers like Apple had to pay billions of dollars to use their technology for wireless standards.

It is necessary to remember that 5 G technology promises to transform a wide range of products. A key issue in the smartphone wars was the value of standardised technology. Automakers typically leave patent issues to their suppliers of parts

Automakers are now in court challenging some of the same firms that phonemakers like Apple have had to pay billions of dollars to use their technology for wireless standards. Those companies, Qualcomm, Nokia, and other telecommunications developers, may reap 5G royalties not only from “talking cars” but from products that will communicate wirelessly being planned in agriculture, medicine, appliances and other sectors.

“So many different types of companies have to find a way to get these deals done,” said Joe Siino, president of Via Licensing, a Dolby Laboratories unit that works with audio, wireless, broadcast and automotive industries. “It’s taking the problems we had with smartphones and multiplying it by 10.”