was sued by Acer for using its 4G technology without the appropriate license. The carmaker in March signed with Avanci, which covers Acer's patents, in order to settle.
While suppliers have historically paid for patent licenses in areas like engine design, tech firms would rather deal directly with carmakers over telecoms patents, according to an auto industry source with experience of licensing negotiations. "Usually suppliers handle patents in the development process – telecoms is the one area where they don't," the person, who declined to be named, said. Avanci is also working with companies on a new contract to cover 5G patents, which would likely be more expensive than the current patent portfolio.