Sony sells smartphone IP to Technicolor

Japanese electronics firm and handset shop Sony has licensed smartphone and tablet technology to media and entertainment specialist Technicolor, whilst licensing other intellectual property from the French firm.

Technicolor said it has acquired select patents and patent applications from Sony covering a broad range of technologies for smartphones and tablets. As a result Technicolor will become the exclusive licensor of the portfolio spanning a broad array of technologies such as LTE, WCDMA, UMTS, wifi, haptics, video compression, software, user interface, LCD and AMOLED.

Sony will also licence all of Technicolor’s mobile handset technology for use in its smartphones.

Sony bought Ericsson out of the ill-fated mobile handset joint venture last year and now develops handsets under the Sony Mobile brand. But there are still cross over interests: Ericsson voiced its intention to become the “glue” holding broadcast, IT and telecoms services together in March when it announced plans to acquire the broadcast services division of Technicolor.

This is a separate division to the one that struck the deal with Sony. The French firm’s broadcast services division provides play-out services, live production support and media asset management services.