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This report provides a detailed analysis of SK Telecom’s patent portfolio wrt Wi-Fi 6. To identify relevant patents, comprehensive searches were conducted across multiple patent databases using a combination of search strings, IPC/CPC classifications, and Wi-Fi 6 specific keywords. Since the Wi-Fi 6 standard was officially published in February 2021, the search focused exclusively on patents with a priority date on or before February 2021.

A total of 22 unique and active patent families were identified for SK Telecom.

This analysis focuses on understanding the scope, relevance, and potential essentiality of SK Telecom’s patent portfolio in relation to key Wi-Fi 6 technologies such as OFDMA, MU-MIMO, beamforming, BSS color, spatial stream, TWT and spatial streams.

What you’ll get:

  • Essentiality analysis of SK Telecom's patent portfolio

  • Relevant independent claim

  • Target entity of independent claim

  • Patents that are potentially essential to Wi-Fi 6 standard

  • Patents that are potentially non-essential to Wi-Fi 6 standard

Description

To identify SK Telecom’s patents related to Wi-Fi 6, we employed Wi-Fi 6 relevant keywords such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Target Wake Time (TWT), Basic Service Set (BSS) Color, High-Efficiency (HE), 802.11ax, 160 MHz, beamforming, spatial streams, 78.125 kHz, 1024-QAM, spatial reuse, Resource Unit (RU) allocation, etc. The CPCs used for filtering included H04W, H04W 84/12, H04W 72/04, H04W 72/12, H04W 52/02, H04W 52/36, H04W 88/08, H04B, H04B 7/06, etc.

To assess a patent’s essentiality, each claim is manually analysed by our technical expert team with respect to the Wi-Fi 6 standard to verify whether all claim elements are present. We have classified a patent as potentially essential, potentially non-essential, or medium based on the following criteria:

  • A patent is classified as potentially essential if claim elements align with the Wi-Fi 6 specifications.
  • Conversely, the patent is classified as potentially non-essential if any element is missing or conflicts with the standard, such as contradictory requirements or descriptions.
  • A patent is marked as medium if the main technical aspects are present in the Wi-Fi 6 standard, but some elements are not explicitly defined and can only be reasonably inferred from the identified sections.

Frequently asked questions

How many SK Telecom patent families does this Wi-Fi 6 report cover?
The report covers 22 unique and active patent families identified for SK Telecom. Each family was reviewed against the Wi-Fi 6 standard rather than simply counted, so the study sets out what the claims cover and how closely they track the standard. Scope, relevance, and potential essentiality are examined across Wi-Fi 6 technologies such as OFDMA, MU-MIMO, beamforming, BSS color, spatial streams, and target wake time. That gives a family level view of where the portfolio meets the standard.

Which search terms and classifications were used to build the patent set?
Wi-Fi 6 keywords drove the search, including orthogonal frequency division multiple access, target wake time, basic service set color, high efficiency, 802.11ax, 160 MHz, beamforming, spatial streams, 78.125 kHz, 1024-QAM, spatial reuse, and resource unit allocation. CPC codes used for filtering included H04W, H04W 84/12, H04W 72/04, H04W 72/12, H04W 52/02, H04W 52/36, H04W 88/08, H04B, and H04B 7/06. Since the standard was published in February 2021, only patents with a priority date on or before that month were kept.

What do the potentially essential and potentially non-essential labels mean?
Each claim is analysed manually by the technical team against the Wi-Fi 6 standard to verify whether all claim elements are present. A patent is marked potentially essential when the claim elements align with the Wi-Fi 6 specifications. It is marked potentially non-essential when an element is missing or conflicts with the standard, for example through contradictory requirements or descriptions. A middle category, medium, holds the cases that fall between the two. The wording stays qualified because essentiality is finally settled by licensing parties or courts.

How do I get a copy of this report?
Copies are supplied on request through the contact page on the website. Send an enquiry naming this study and the team will follow up with the report and any clarifications. Scope can be adjusted before delivery, so a request can concentrate on particular Wi-Fi 6 features, on a subset of the identified families, or on the claim analysis behind the essentiality calls. Extending the same review to a related portfolio can also be discussed at that stage.