Apple Becomes LG Electronics Patent Licensing Customer, Has Paid About $4.1 Billion in Licensing Fees, Sources Say

According to foreign media reports, in April this year, LG Electronics disclosed that they received a one-time patent license fee from a customer, but they did not disclose the specific name of the customer.

The latest news from Korean media shows that two companies paid LG Electronics a total of KRW 890 billion (about RMB 4.548 billion) in patent licensing fees in the first quarter, including Apple, and Apple paid the majority of them, over KRW 800 billion (about RMB 4.088 billion).

The Korean media also mentioned in the report that LG Electronics and Apple, may have entered into a long-term patent usage agreement for a period of up to 10 years, including a large number of standard-essential patents.

If Apple becomes a patent licensing customer of LG Electronics as reported by the foreign media, it will be another agreement between the two companies on patent licensing.

LG Electronics has previously signed a patent licensing agreement with Apple, but unlike the latest report of Apple becoming LG Electronics' patent licensing customer, the two companies previously signed a cross-licensing agreement, which is no longer necessary as LG Electronics gives up its smartphone business.

The fact that LG Electronics no longer produces smartphones means that they do not need to pay patent licensing fees to Apple, and with a large number of standard-essential patents in hand, they are able to earn significant revenue as a result.

The Korean media also reported that after reaching a patent licensing agreement with Apple, LG Electronics, which has a large number of standard-essential patents, may also be looking to reach a similar agreement with Samsung Electronics, which is currently the world's highest-selling smartphone manufacturer with higher annual shipments than Apple.