Motorola joins patent pool for NFC mobile technology

Via Licensing today announced that Motorola has added its NFC (Near Field Communications) patents to the “pool” maintained by Via. This announcement means that the Motorola NFC patents will be available to other companies through a single license, maintained by VIA.

Who are these Via Licensing people?

Via is dedicated to development and standardization through patent licensing programs. These programs, called “patent pools” allow patents from many different companies to be accessed through one license. Via focuses in particular on multimedia distribution and broadcasting. By creating a single access point that everyone has equal access to, Via hopes to encourage joint development and better standards.

The patent pool for NFC already has a lot of companies on side. The addition of Motorola makes the pool even more valuable. Check out the Via NFC page for more details.

From the release:

“Motorola has a broad licensing program encompassing multiple technologies, some of which are commercially appropriate for joint licensing programs,” said Brian Blasius, Director of Outbound Licensing, Motorola Mobile Devices. “We are committed to facilitating the development and implementation of the NFC market by making our patents essential to the practice of NFC accessible to the industry through a single, convenient source.”

“We are thrilled to have Motorola participate in the joint licensing program for NFC,” said Helene Jay, Director of Business Development, Europe at Via Licensing. “By working with industry leaders such as Motorola, France Telecom, Inside Contactless, and NXP, Via Licensing hopes to enhance the value of a combined patent license to those companies creating products based on this technology.”

What we think?

Via Licensing has an interesting proposition. Hold on to your patents jealously, or share access and benefit from a larger pool? If your patent is red-hot, then you might be better off holding on to it. But a struggling company like Motorola could use a many friends as possible. This reminds me of the 4G initiative recently launched by Motorola. It does seem to be inviting as many people to share technology as possible. It would be interesting if Motorola were to begin dropping it’s flagging handset sales and moving toward being a technology provider.