Exploring Evolution of Patent Litigation and Licensing Strategy: The Case of Philips's Light Emitting Diodes (LED) Patents

LED lighting has received considerable attention due to high energy efficiency, high intensity of brightness, high reliability, low radiated heat, long life span and negligible UV rays. As time goes by, some powerful and invincible patents which had been used as litigation weapons by patent giants are expired. These patent giants changed their strategies to revamp their businesses by earning licensing revenue or releasing some of their patents. This study conducts patent litigation and IP competitiveness analysis to explore Philips's patent portfolio, identify prospective and valuable litigated patents, and illustrate its litigation /licensing strategy. Visualizations of overall research results and IP implications can benefit policy maker, LED leaders and followers such as China, Taiwan and Korea-based companies in the post oligopoly era.