Samsung Lands US Design Patent Suggesting It May Be Planning to Bow Drones

Samsung Electronics in Korea landed a U.S. design patent Tuesday that further suggests the company may be contemplating entering the still-emerging, but booming, consumer drones market, Patent and Trademark Office records show. The patent lists three Korean inventors and is based on a January 2017 application, say the records. Sister subsidiary Samsung Display landed a patent last month for a “flying display device” that first fueled speculation that a Samsung drone offering might be looming in the not-too-distant future. Samsung representatives didn’t comment Tuesday. U.S. dollar sales of drones increased 33 percent in 2017 over 2016, with dollar sales of drones priced $500 and above generating 69 percent of the overall sales revenue in the category, said NPD in a March 15 retail tracking report.