Patents, AR/VR, and the future of Hollywood
Summary by Phil Lelyveld;
This data-rich article starts with a 2014-2016 timeline of company acquisitions and investments related to VR and AR. Sony dominates US patent filings related to VR, followed by IBM, Samsung, Microsoft, and Canon. Magic Leap and Reveo are the leading start-ups when it comes to published patents related to VR. Microsoft, Sony, and Qualcomm have the most published patents related to AR, although they do not necessarily lead in the number of AR inventions. Osterout Group and Magic Leap are the clear leaders in published AR patents. All 10 companies on these lists have far fewer inventions than patents because multiple patents may be included in a single invention. The author reports that several non-practicing entities like Searete (part of Intellectual Ventures) have already ventured into strengthening their IP in the domain of VR and AR. In the ETC’s Phil Lelyveld’s opinion, it is important to start the dialog of defining what defines Hollywood-quality VR experiences and what the key aspects of an interoperable VR and AR ecosystem are now, before technical walled gardens fortified by patents become entrenched.
See the full article here: http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2016/06/18/technology-startups-virtual-augmented-reality/id=70162/