Essential intellectual property rights and corporate technology strategy: manufacturing firms vs. non-practicing entities

Obtaining essential intellectual property rights (IPRs) is important for innovation competitionin the network industry, where technical standardisation plays a critical role in development. Inthis study, we empirically investigate the determinants of essential IPRs for wirelesscommunications standards by using the patent database. More specifically, we comparemanufacturing firms’ and non-practicing entities’ (NPEs) technology strategies for essentialIPRs. Our results indicate that manufacturing firms accumulate their technological capabilityin specific technology fields, whereas NPEs cover broader technology fields to keep theirdominant position in the standardisation process.