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

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.

NFC - Near Field Communication

3

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

Timeline

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication

4

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

Timeline continued

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication

5

Patent Analysis – Strategy

6

Key components of NFC

7

Component Description

Tag Device for storing information

Reader Device for reading information from tag

Antenna Device for transmitting/receiving data

Controller Device for controlling communication between NFC devices

Secure element Device for securing user information, e.g. credit card data

Patenting Activity - Publication trend

• Publications have seen an exponential growth in the recent years.

• In 2016, 8467 patent families have been published.

8

573764

967 1136

2159

4157

6106

7793

8467

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

• 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.

Patenting Activity – Major players

9

175 188 197 199232 235

264 265

339

624

Google Inc NXP BV BlackberryLtd

QualcommInc

ZTE Corp ResearchIn Motion

Ltd

Canon Inc Sony Corp LGElectronics

Co Ltd

SamsungElectronics

Co Ltd

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.

Patenting Activity - Geographical Distribution

10

Code Country

AU Australia

IN India

CA Canada

DE Germany

JP Japan

EP Europe

WO WIPO/PCT

KR Korea

US United Stated of America

CN China

Patenting Activity - Top CPC codes

11

577

826955 1046

2114

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

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 short-range wireless interface

H04B 5/0031 For data transfer

Patents with NFC communication are

highest followed by patents with

mobile payments using NFC.

Sample patent analysis

12

• 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.

Major players and Market forecast

Source: https://www.reference.com/business-finance/lucrative-nfc-companies-b59ad89479503d7b#http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/near-field-communication-nfc-market

13

3.5 4.87.7 9.8

12.516.6

21.826

32.5

38.4

47.7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

• 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 14th, 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.

Recent patent litigations and licensing

14

Source: https://www.nfcworld.com/2015/01/28/333758/nxp-sues-marvell-xbox-nfc-chips/

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.

NFC for Business

• Brand protection

• Smart Media & Products

• Smart manufacturing

• Smart advertising

Applications – Digital payment and NFC tags

15

Source: http://www.nxp.com

Source: http://www.nxp.com

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

Applications – Security and Internet of Things (IoT )

16

Source: http://www.nxp.com

Source: http://www.nxp.com

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