South Korean group becomes both licensee and licensor

Samsung Electronics has signed up to Sisvel’s Wi-Fi Multimode pool as both a user of the licences and a contributor of patents, a move that also ends litigation with Wilus in the Eastern District of Texas.

The agreement broadens the programme’s patent base and adds one of the world’s biggest consumer electronics groups. Samsung is a major smartphone vendor and a large research and development company, so its entry gives the pool wider reach across several device markets.

Sisvel’s current programme covers standard essential patents tied to Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7. It is designed to give manufacturers a single route to secure key Wi-Fi rights, while also offering patent owners a shared licensing framework.

January 2026 launch

Since the public launch in January 2026, ASUS, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Microsoft and Sony Group Corporation have joined as licensees. After Samsung’s addition, the companies that hold both licensor and licensee status are Huawei, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung Electronics and ZTE.

The list of licensors also includes KPN, Mitsubishi Electric, Orange, Aegis 11 SA, SK Telecom and Wilus. As a result, the pool now draws patents and participation from telecom groups, electronics makers and network technology businesses.

Nick Webb, Sisvel’s executive head of licensing, called Samsung’s arrival as both licensor and licensee a major milestone for the Wi-Fi Multimode pool.

Webb also argued that the pool model has proved useful in preventing and resolving Wi-Fi patent disputes. According to Sisvel, Samsung’s participation makes the licensing offer stronger for companies developing and shipping Wi-Fi products.

Heath Hoglund, Sisvel’s chief IP officer, described the deal as an important validation of the programme across multiple product categories because of Samsung’s scale and global footprint.

Hoglund added that Sisvel Wi-Fi MM is giving implementers clearer licensing terms across different industry verticals, while remaining an efficient option for patent owners.

The Multimode pool follows Sisvel’s earlier Wi-Fi 6 patent pool. Over three years, that previous programme reached agreements with 40 companies, including Acer, Netgear, Cisco and HP.

That earlier record gives context for Samsung’s decision. It shows Sisvel already had an established licensing structure before expanding the offer to include both Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 patents under the newer Multimode scheme.

Sisvel said the Samsung agreement not only resolves the Texas dispute with Wilus, but also increases the scope of the patent package available through the programme.