Alium Forms Open RAN Patent Pool With 11 Licensors

Eleven patent owners comprise the initial roster of licensors in the Open RAN Patent Portfolio License announced Monday by Alium, the joint venture between MPEG LA and the Unified Patents anti-patent troll consortium. Alium bills the initiative as the first patent pool “to address licensing uncertainty” in the open radio access network “infrastructure space.” Open radio access network “is a groundbreaking technology ready to blossom and grow with the availability of a pool license offering affordable access, freedom to operate, reduced litigation risk and business certainty for suppliers and users,” said Alium Manager Larry Horn, who also is MPEG LA CEO. He predicted the Alium pool license “will help speed 5G adoption and the delivery of 5G services to the public.” Royalty rates for the one-stop patent pool begin at 25 cents per “radio unit” in quantities up to 10,000, dropping to 10 cents a unit for volumes exceeding 200,000. Initial licensors are Acer, AT&T, CableLabs, Comcast, Godo Kaisha, Meta Platforms, Mitsubishi, Pantech, Philips, SK Telecom and Verizon.