Wearable technology forms a major part of the Internet-of-Things (IoT), and is expected to have a far-reaching influence on the fields of fitness, medicine, education, transportation, gaming and entertainment. To download the full report please visit http://www.lex-innova.com/resources-reports/?id=63

1. The advancement of the Internet-of
Things (IoT) and new sensory
technologies has led to the creation of a
new segment of devices called Wearables,
which connect with the human body and
help users access biophysical data for a
number of applications, including fitness,
medicine, disability, education,
transportation, gaming and entertainment.
Wearable
Technology
Licensing and Landscape
Microsoft, Philips and Alphabet lead
patent filings in wearable technology with
757, 756 and 602 patents/patent
applications respectively, followed by
Samsung (498 patents/patent applications)
and Qualcomm (patents/patent
applications).
Other notable assignees in this space are
Medtronics, a company specializing in
smart medical devices such as remote
cardiac monitoring systems, with 379
patents/patent applications, and Aliph,
which produces the Jawbone line of
fitness wearables.
We use our Licensing-Heat Map
framework to identify sub-domains in
the field of Wearable Technology where
licensing activity is expected to be high.
Manufacturing/Fabrication and
Measurement Testing are red in color,
which reflects a very distributed
portfolio with no monopoly of any
assignee in these domains. Hence there
is a higher chance of licensing activity.
Domains like Medical Devices and
Display Systems fall in the green shades
reflecting that the patent portfolio in
these domains is predominantly held by
fewer players.
Medtronic, Philips and Dexcom are the
top three companies having the highest
number of patent applications in the
Medical Devices domain, while the
Display Systems domain is ruled by the
three technology behemoths – Alphabet,
Microsoft and Samsung.
Medical Devices
Other Hardware
(Circuits)
Display systems
Other
(Miscellaneous)
Resource
Management
Movement Speech
Processing
Measurement/
Testing
Heat rate Other
(Algorithm)
Input/Output
interfaces
Garments/
Bodywear
Power
Management
Manufacturing/
Fabrication
AlarmSystems
The Wearable Electronics and Technology
market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of
17.8% and reach $31.27 billion by 2020*
Mergers and Acquisitions
Market Projections
Top Assignees
LICENSING HEAT MAP
A CAGR of 17.8%
2020*
$
31.27 Billion
13.78
16.24
19.13
26.54
22.53
31.27
2015 2016
2017 2018
2019
2020
© LexInnova 2016 www.lex-innova.com
What and Why
Wearable technology comprises all
products and devices which can be worn
on a user’s body to integrate computing
into their daily activity.
Technical maturity and miniaturization of
components have opened the gateway
for a new generation of wearable devices
that are expected to have a far reaching
impact.
The devices cover a wide range of smart
technologies, including smart watches,
smart eyewear, connected apparel,
medical devices, etc.
One of the most recent acquisitions in
the wearable technology domain was
made by Fossil Group, which acquired
Misfit in November, 2015.
Intel has accelerated its entry in the
wearable space by acquiring Recon in
June, 2015, which follows its acquisition
of Basis in March, 2014.
Microsoft considered acquiring
Osterhout Design Group, a low-profile
company that develops wearables for
the military, but instead picked up a big
chunk of its IP. Six issued and 75
in-progress patents for Augmented
Reality glasses were picked up by
Microsoft in the multi-million dollar
deal.
Another significant acquisition in the
wearable tech space was by Facebook
in 2014, of an app called Moves, which
it picked up with the purchase of
Helsinki-based developer ProtoGeo Oy.
*
Source:The market value of Wearable Technology is a mash-up
between the estimates of 'Wearable Technology Market' by Markets
and Markets, and LexInnova’s estimations using the CAGR formula.
International Business
Machines
188
Intel
164
ETRI
164
Panasonic
153
Honeywell
152
Dexcom
207
Apple
197
Nokia
196
Abbott
Laboratories
195
Fitbit
192
Intellectual Ventures
Management
412
Medtronic
379
Aliph
357
LG
232
Microsoft
757
Philips
756
Alphabet
602
Samsung
498
Qualcomm
415
Sony
318