April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Apple has acquired 12 patents from Pantech, the troubled Korean smartphone maker that once competed head-on with bigger rivals Samsung and LG until the early 2000s but recently decided to ditch the business.

According to the US Patent and Trademark Office on July 19, the iPhone maker acquired a dozen of Pantech patents mostly on wireless mobile communication on May 22. The acquisition was filed to the agency on June 29.

Following the dismal failure of its IM-100 smartphone last year, Pantech said in May it would stop rolling out new phones and seek to secure cash by selling off assets, including more than 3,000 patents it owns globally.

In October last year, the firm sold 230 patent rights to Goldpeak Innovations, a Seoul-based non-practicing entity and the firm’s strategic partner right. Apple also acquired the patents from Goldpeak.

“Pantech says it would not sell key technologies such as those on smartphone production but there seems to be few incentives for the firm to do so,” an industry source said.

Sources say handset makers, especially Chinese firms, may have interest in Pantech’s patents related to anti-theft, fingerprint recognition and water-resistance technologies that are increasingly being adopted by high-end smartphones.

After years of ownership changes and financial struggles, Pantech was acquired by Solid, a local telecom equipment manufacturer, in 2015. The company launched the IM-100 smartphone, its first in two years, last year but suffered losses due to lukewarm sales. While reducing resources into the money-losing smartphone business, the company plans to focus more on Internet of Things services.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)