China leads 5G patent race

Chinese companies lead in global 5G patent applications with Huawei ranking first, according to a report by IPlytics, an authorized patent data company.

Chinese companies topped the list for most 5G Standards-Essential Patents applications in communication systems by the end of April, accounting for 34 percent of the world's total, The Paper reported Wednesday, citing the report.

Chinese tech giant Huawei has taken a leading role by owning 15 percent of Standards-Essential Patents, according to the report Who Is Leading the 5G Patent Race?

5G SEPs are patents any company will have to use when implementing standardized 5G technology and no one can avoid them, giving them key value among all patents.

Three industrial leaders from China were included in the top 10 list of 5G SEP family owners, with Huawei taking the crown, and ZET Corp and China Academy of Telecommunications Technology grabbing fifth and ninth places, respectively.

Different from 3G and 4G technologies, 5G technology will impact various industries and stimulate the emergence of many new products, services and industries.

The automotive sector will most likely be one of the first industries to rely on 5G, connecting vehicles to other vehicles, roadsides, traffic lights, buildings and the internet to process data across cars or in the cloud, according to the report.

As 5G technology has integrated various industries and technologies, the number of 5G Standards-Essential Patents applications surged to more than 60,000 globally by the end of April, the report said.