The unparalleled value of Qualcomm’s video codec and Wi-Fi inventions

First and foremost, Qualcomm is an invention company. Our sustained investment in fundamental research and development (R&D), decades-long standards leadership, expertise in nearly every area of wireless technology, and history of world-first prototypes and demos is unmatched. For over 30 years, Qualcomm has led the world in inventing wireless technology, and along the way has built an unmatched IP portfolio, which has resulted in the most successful licensing business in the industry.

Our industry-leading IP portfolio of over 140,000 patents and applications includes inventions across a wide range of technologies — from 4G and 5G cellular standard-essential patents, to handset performance innovations in key areas like power, graphics, RF and camera, and to the foundational technologies at the core of modern Wi-Fi and video compression. For cellular handsets, we’ve long offered a full portfolio license (covering standard-essential patents and patents not essential to standards), while also offering a cellular standard-essential patent-only option. Some licensees choose to acquire more comprehensive rights under a full-portfolio license, and others opt to take the cellular SEP-only option.

As multimedia and Wi-Fi are critical to how we use our devices every day, we want to highlight the value and importance of our inventions in these fields. These are vital technology areas in which Qualcomm has made significant, decades-long investments in R&D to develop breakthrough inventions, resulting in technologies that underpin the experiences consumers have come to expect from their cutting-edge devices.

Leading Wi-Fi technology

Qualcomm is a leader in Wi-Fi technology. Our foundational inventions are at the heart of modern Wi-Fi, including Wi-Fi 5, 6, 6E and 7, and our patent portfolio in Wi-Fi is the strongest in the industry. With breakthrough Qualcomm innovations in areas such as MIMO and MU-MIMO, the OFDMA radio waveform design, and wireless mesh networks, Wi-Fi is fast, power-efficient and able to handle an ever-growing number of connected devices in dense environments such as home and work. Additionally, we are the world’s No. 1 semiconductor company in Wi-Fi with more than 6.5 billion Wi-Fi products shipped.

Driving video compression technology forward

Qualcomm also leads in video codec technologies that form the backbone of modern, high-quality video streaming. These codecs define how video data is encoded, compressed and sent to and from devices, making video streaming clearer, faster and higher quality. Our inventions have revolutionized how visual content is captured, transmitted and consumed across smartphones, tablets, TVs and other devices, creating enormous benefits for consumers, device manufacturers and video service providers. Qualcomm is a leading developer of the industry’s best video codecs, H.265/HEVC and H.266/VVC. Likewise, Qualcomm inventions are critical to other recent video codecs such as AV1. Our video codec patent portfolio is the strongest in the industry, and our video compression innovations impact the world far beyond the mobile industry. Qualcomm’s inventors in this field are widely recognized, and we continuously push the ecosystem forward with cutting-edge demos.

Creating these foundational technologies is at the heart of what we do as a company. Qualcomm’s thousands of engineers invent the breakthrough ideas that revolutionize our connected world, and our industry-leading licensing program continues to share these technologies far and wide with companies looking to use them to make the best possible products. Our Wi-Fi and video compression inventions enable the functionality that billions of people love and rely on around the world — from all your Wi-Fi connected devices in your home or office, to streaming video on your phone, TV, computer, tablet and beyond.

As Wi-Fi and video codecs enable so much of what consumers do with their devices today, those who are interested in licensing these industry-leading patent portfolios can contact us for more information.