At one point we thought that Lenovo could acquire NEC. Apparently, the Chinese firm isn’t looking for the Japanese company’s handset portfolio, but its patents.
We’ve no information how much Lenovo paid for the privilege, but we do know they got NEC’s 3,800+ patent families filed in numerous countries around the world. The portfolio includes standard essential patents for 3G and LTE mobile technologies as well as patents for features and technologies used in many of today’s smartphones.
“A strong patent portfolio is a key element for success in the smartphone business. This investment strengthens Lenovo’s existing intellectual property portfolio,” said Ira Blumberg, vice president of Intellectual Property, Lenovo. “As Lenovo expands its mobile PC Plus business into new markets, this investment shows it is committed to having the IP we need for global success.”
It’s important to note that this isn’t the first patent acquisition made by Lenovo — just recently they bought a bunch of patents from Unwired Planet. Add the acquisition of Motorola to the mix and you get the idea how Lenovo is preparing for the global domination. Speaking of which [global domination], they say that we may see them acquiring additional intellectual property assets in the (near?) future.