1 Patent Trend Analysis of Smart Cars

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2 1. Analysis Background and Method Various countries have been giving attention to Smart Cars as their new growth power industry since 2000, and the market is expected to expand gradually. - U.S., Japan, and Europe have been putting in efforts to cultivate state level Smart Cars since early 2000, and Korea has also been taking the lead in the state level investments by selecting Smart Car as their new growth engine since February of this year. 1 - ABI Research expects Smart Car market to grow up to an annual average of 36.1% by 2016, reaching $301.1 billion in size by 2019, 2 and Korean Automotive Research Institute expects world s Smart Car market to grow up to $274 billion in size by Moreover, as the competition between companies technology development increases, patent disputes which developed mainly over IT industries are spreading to automotive industries as well. - Patent disputes occurred mainly in IT industry, but recently, it has expanded to connecting Smart Car and Information Communication Technology (ICT), which most of them are technologies related to ICT such as navigations, vehicle audios, vehicle communication and networks, and travelling controls 4 1 Expansion of the Smart Car market and domestic ICT industry s corresponding task, KDB Industrial Bank, Op.cit IT Industry the Seven Megatrends, the Federation of Korean Information Industries, Op.cit. 3 Market Analysis on Smart Car/Green Car sensors, Korea Automotive Research Institute (Mirae Corporation Monthly), Op.cit. 4 Patent Dispute Trend in Domestic and Foreign Automobiles, Korea Institute of Intellectual Property, Op.cit. 2

3 - Recently, a U.S. patent administration company AVS, filed a lawsuit for patent infringement related to vehicle diagnostic system and telematics against Hyundai and Kia vehicles in U.S. Michigan Eastern District Court in August of this year. This report will analyze the trend of Smart Car patents filed in four major countries (South Korea, United States, Japan, and Europe) between 1975 and 2014, using WIPS Global. - After creating a search formula and forming data groups by selecting major Smart Car related words using synonyms/antonyms, noise documents were removed and final valid data was extracted. - Patent application trend by year, number of applicants by periods of years, current status of patent application by technology, and major applicants as well as current joint application status were examined. [Reference] What is Smart Car? 5 Smart Car refers to vehicles that provide high level of safety and convenience functions with real-time detection of the interior and exterior of the vehicle by merging advanced electric and electronic, information communication, and functional control technologies with auto technology. In other words, Smart Car is a model combined with information related to various vehicle operations, entertainment system, and network; in that sense, Smart Car is also called Connected Car with a network. The major functions of Smart Car are safety prevention, accident restraints, collision and damage prevention, and various equipments for convenience. Along with it, Smart Car could be applied in various fields such as communication field with WIFI, 3G, and LTE, vehicle remote controls using smart phones, vehicle personalization using Smart Cars, connectivity of various data communication equipments and vehicle, vehicle App store, and open platform provision. 5 Smart Car, KISTI MARKET REPORT, Op.cit. 3

4 2. Smart Car Patent Analysis Result The total number of Smart Car related patents applied to four major countries is 6,033. Though with its repeated ups and downs, it shows upward trend overall. - U.S. and Japan holds majority of the patents with 2173 and 1869 cases respectively, and the next is South Korea with 1215 cases, followed by Europe with 786 cases. - From 70s to 1985, average of 1.4 patents were filed per applicant, but this percentage has increased gradually to 1.8 patents filed per applicant from 1986 to 1995 and 2.3 patents per applicant after 1996, showing steady increase in the number of patents per applicant. After 2000, the level has remained similar with no drastic changes. [Smart Car Patents by Application Trend Year and Number of Applicants] 4

5 Looking at the number of patent applications per country and the current application status of domestic and foreign applicants, South Korea and Japan mainly consist of domestic applications whereas U.S. and Europe consist up to 40% in foreign applications. - U.S. started applying for Smart Car related patents earliest in the 70s, and Japan and Europe followed in turn, but with respect to the number of applications, Japan holds far more in number than others. - For Korea, patent activities began to take off in the late 80s, though it has been experiencing constant ups and downs, it shows significant increase up to recent days. On the other hand, U.S. Japan, and Europe are showing recent decrease in number of applications. [Number of Korea s patent application by year and current status of domestic and foreign applicants] [Number of U.S. s patent application by year and current status of domestic and foreign applicants] 5

6 [Number of Japan s patent application by year and current status of domestic and foreign applicants] [Number of Europe s patent application by year and current status of domestic and foreign applicants] Looking into the nationality of major applicants, Japan turns out to be 36% of entire applicants with 2197 patent applications, and the next is U.S., Korea, Germany, and etc. [Nationality of Smart Car Patent s Major Applicants] 6

7 Major applicants are Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai Motors, Honda, and Hyundai Mobis, and top patent holding applicants by country are Toyota for Japan, Honda for U.S., Hyundai Motors for Korea, and Robert Bosch for Europe. - Toyota which filed total of 253 patents, released Fun-Vii futuristic concept car that allows drivers to change the exterior of the car and use it as a touch screen, including technology that enables exchanging information with nearby cars while driving at the 2015 Busan Motor Show in May. - Nissan which filed total of 202 patents, is developing a research with a goal to commercialize Smart Cars by 2020, and is planning to introduce Smart Cars which can drive on highways and park in Likewise, Hyundai Motors, which filed total of 202 patents, is already providing vehicles with telematics services which is an integrated wireless IT technology with vehicle, a service called Blue Link that includes remote start/assistance, remote lock/unlock, locating parked cars, automatic warning signals for airbag deployment, remote vehicle diagnostic, navigation, and restaurant reservations. 7 [Current Status of Major Smart Car Patent Applicants] Looking into major applicants by periods of years, Toyota, Mazda, and Nissan showed relatively high number of applications from 1983~1993 but recently, 6 Japanese Electronics Industry, redeeming the smart phone humiliation with Smart Cars, Korea Economics 7 IT integrated Smart Car to enter into a blooming season next year, Digital Times 7

8 new applicants such as Hyundai Motors, Hyundai Mobis, and Denso also showed high number of applications other than Toyota and Nissan. - Mazda applied a great number of applications in the early 90s, but it has shown great decrease in the mid 90s and after, whereas Japanese/Korean applicants such as Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai Motors, Kia Motors, Hyundai Mobis, and Denso have shown great increase in the mid 90s and after. - Especially for Hyundai Motors, their number of Smart Car patents reached up to 120 cases after 2005, exceeding Toyota that held greatest number of patents before and ascending to the top ranking applicant recently. [Current Status of Major Applicants by Periods of Years] Looking at the current application status by IPC technology classification, major field of technology that was filed the most was related to vehicles, vehicle fittings, or vehicle parts, not otherwise provided for (B60R), arrangement of signaling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor, for vehicles in general (B60Q), and electric equipment or propulsion or electrically propelled vehicles (B60Q). 8

9 [Current Application Status by IPC Technology Classification] [Current Application Status by IPC Technology Classification] Number % of IPC Technology Classification of App. App. B60R B60Q B60L B60W B60K VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR % ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR % VEHICLES IN GENERAL ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT OR PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLYPROPELLED VEHICLES 571 9% VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 514 9% CONTROL DEVICE RELATED TO DIFFERENT TYPES OR FUNCTIONS OF VEHICLE PARTS; CONTROL SYSTEM UNIQUELY SUITED FOR HYBRID VEHICLE; CONTROL SYSTEM NOT RELATED TO THE SINGLE SPECIFIC 347 6% PART BUT FOR VEHICLES ON THE ROAD WITH SPECIFIC PURPOSE B65G TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES 160 3% B62D MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS 148 2% B60N B60P B65D VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR VEHICLES ADAPTED FOR LOAD TRANSPORTATION OR TO TRANSPORT, TO CARRY, OR TO COMPRISE SPECIAL LOADS OR OBJECTS CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS 126 2% 97 2% 93 2% 9

10 Joint research between companies appeared to be slightly low, only 6% (367 cases) were joint applications, showing that most of the companies are focusing on independent research. - Major joint applicants are Toyota, Kia Motors, Hyundai Motors [Percentage of Joint Application] [Current Status of Major Joint Applicants] 10

11 3. Summary Total number of Smart Car patents applied to 4 countries is 6,033 cases and is repeatedly increasing and decreasing but with overall tendency to increase. It appears that majority of patent applications were applied by U.S. and Japan. - U.S. and Japan each hold 2173 and 1859 patents, Korea holds 1215, and Europe holds 786 patents. Looking at the current application status of domestic and foreign applicants by country, Korea and Japan s patents are mainly filed by domestic applicants, whereas 40% of U.S. and Europe s patents are filed by foreign applicants. Looking at the country of major applicants, 36% of the applicants amounting to 2,197 were Japanese, and the next was U.S, Korea, Germany, and etc. - Major applicants were Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai Motors, Honda, and Hyundai Mobis. Looking at the current application status by IPC technology classification, major field of technology that was filed the most was related to vehicles, vehicle fittings, or vehicle parts, not otherwise provided for (B60R), arrangement of signaling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor, for vehicles in general (B60Q), and electric equipment or propulsion or electrically propelled vehicles (B60Q). As recent number of Korea s patent applications has increased, technology development competition seemed to have become highly competitive, but with increasing number of merge between IT technology and automobile industry, the possibility of increased domestic corporate patent disputes are expected as well. So, it appears that efforts are needed to prepare precautionary measures for prior technology standards and conflict responses. 11