SSL technology development and commercialization in the global context

Multi-national patents and applications data, based on filings in patent authorities worldwide, are used as a means to probe corporate and national R&D roles in the emerging LED and SSL industries. The data are counts of patents, applications, or applications filed in at least two patent authorities, and do not have means to control for the importance of individual patents. Nonetheless they provide a helpful way to assess the companies and nations involved in LED and SSL research in general and in specific technological sub-domains. Some of the leading companies and nations are reported on. The data show Samsung's rapid rise to prominence in these technologies. They indicate a greater role of nations other than the U.S. than has been noted in previous patent analyses, since the tendency of applicants to file predominantly in their home countries has meant that counts based solely on U.S. patents have missed large numbers of non-U.S. applicants active in this technology while still counting U.S. applicants that filed solely in the U.S. They reveal growing activity in Asia, partly in Korea because of Samsung's role, and partly in Taiwan and mainland China.