Ericsson reveals how patent and business strategies complement each other

Ericsson plans to be a gatekeeper for connected devices.

Ericsson AB took a leadership role in the Nortel patent auction, which led Bloomberg to ask CEO Hans Vestberg about the company’s IP strategy. “By 2015 two-thirds of all consumer electronics devices will have some sort of connectivity…any company or manufacturer that wants to get in there will need an agreement with Ericsson.”

In the interview Vestberg revealed Ericsson estimates of market size:  50 billion connected devices worldwide by 2020. Obviously this market is not limited to handsets, and readers can expect Ericsson patent monetization activity in new areas, such as web search and optical transmissions. Just last month Ericsson agreed to sell its share of the Sony Ericsson handset company to Sony.