HONOR has acquired a portfolio of LG patents related to video coding and image processing, a deal that could strengthen the phone maker’s position in technology licensing negotiations. The assets are relevant beyond smartphone cameras, spanning high-resolution streaming, AI image processing, connected devices and automotive applications.
The transaction adds intellectual property in areas that are often invisible on a product specification sheet but important in industry agreements. Patent holdings can give a company more leverage when negotiating access to technologies owned by other firms, particularly where two parties can exchange rights through cross-licensing rather than relying entirely on cash royalty payments.
HONOR is already both a licensee and, increasingly, a patent licensor across different technology fields.
- HONOR is a licensee in the VVC Advance program, which provides access to patents used by the VVC/H.266 video standard.
- The company has joined Avanci automotive connectivity programs as a licensor, allowing it to make its own patents available to other companies for a fee.
- The LG acquisition gives HONOR additional IP in video and imaging technologies with applications outside handsets.
That dual role matters as mobile brands navigate extensive patent licensing requirements for standards such as 4G, 5G and modern video codecs. HONOR signed an agreement with Nokia covering patented 5G technologies in 2024. A larger patent portfolio could help it negotiate future agreements from a stronger position, provide added protection in IP disputes and potentially create licensing revenue of its own.
LG monetizes research after leaving smartphones
LG exited the smartphone business in 2021, but its decades of work in telecommunications and multimedia left it with a substantial intellectual-property portfolio. Those assets can still generate income through licensing or sales without the costs of maintaining a handset operation.
For HONOR, the acquisition also aligns with a broader presence across PCs, tablets, AI devices and connected ecosystems, where video compression and image processing are widely used. It does not indicate that an upcoming HONOR phone will automatically gain a specific LG-derived camera feature; the immediate significance is in the company’s underlying IP position.
As hardware differences narrow and margins remain under pressure across the mobile industry, the key unanswered detail is how extensively HONOR can use the acquired patents in future licensing and cross-licensing negotiations.
