????正如蘋果（Apple）與三星（Samsung）的專利訴訟大戰所突顯的那樣，專利已成為科技巨頭們的新型硬通貨。刻板乏味的法律文書變得至關重要，這倒不一定是因為其財務價值，而是因為戰略和營銷價值。簡言之，專利是獲取競爭優勢的方式之一。

????蘋果與三星的專利訴訟案判決看來也沒有怎樣改變這一趨勢。LTE（意即“長期演進”）技術是從設備制造商到軟件開發商，到網絡運營商在內的所有IT業領導者都在追逐的下一代無線技術，因為消費者要求獲得速度更快、更穩定的網路。LTE技術還為LG電子（LG Electronics）、諾基亞（Nokia）等在3G設備鼎盛期顯著落后的二線公司提供了趕超三星、蘋果等領頭羊的機會。三星和蘋果兩家公司現在合計把持著智能手機市場半壁以上的江山。

????例如，LG電子最近就宣稱持有的LTE專利數量最多，據知識產權咨詢公司估算價值約80億美元。TechIPm的科技業知識產權戰略專家埃里克斯?李稱：“自從智能手機大行其道以來，確保競爭地位的最有效方式就是擁有專利。”他還說：“LG致力于持有堅實的4G專利組合，這是項好策略……該公司擁有超過4,000萬美元的基礎價值，可對專利進行授權或出售，有望帶來巨大的價值。”（4G 和LTE常常互換使用。）

????但對于大肆宣揚專利戰略價值的做法，也有一些人士提出了質疑。換言之，LG將必須履行專利授權承諾。“因此，未來它可以從專利中獲得一些財務上的回報，但還不足以據此抗衡像蘋果這樣的對手，”專利專家弗洛里安?穆勒在一封電子郵件中寫道。而且，由于大多數專利訴訟案的公司最終都通過交叉授權來了結案件，NH Securities and Investment證券投資公司駐首爾的分析師李成泰表示，最終唯一的贏家可能只有律師。

????即便如此，在過去的幾年中，大公司達成了越來越多的移動技術專利交易。就在上個月，英特爾（Intel）向移動技術開發和授權公司InterDigital購買了價值3.75億美元的3G、4G LTE 和Wi-Fi技術。更值得一提的是去年，已破產的北電網絡（Nortel Networks）將其LTE專利拍賣給了包括蘋果、EMC、愛立信（Ericsson）、微軟（Microsoft）、黑莓手機生產商移動研究公司（Research In Motion）和索尼（Sony）在內的競爭對手聯合體，總價達45億美元。去年8月，谷歌（Google）以125億美元收購了摩托羅拉移動（Motorola Mobility），也大大強化了其專利組合。

????為什么LTE如此重要？LTE技術處于一些最重要的技術發展趨勢的焦點。市場研究公司Strategy Analytics的高級分析師尼爾?沙赫稱，這些趨勢包括頻段效率、數據傳輸和速度、設備能耗管理等。事實上，LTE專利幾乎涉及到熱門消費設備和服務的方方面面。

????比方說，為了提高數據速度，運營商們正在使用一種名為“載波聚合”的技術，將多個頻帶合并成一個數據鏈來提高頻段效率。另一種用于提高數據傳輸質量和速度的技術涉及“多入多出”（MIMO）技術，在無線基站和設備中采用多個天線以同時傳輸更多數據。當前，LTE網絡使用兩根天線，預計未來將增加到8根。但挑戰是硬件制造商如何將更多的先進原件安裝到越來越輕薄的手機中。

????As dramatically shown in Apple and Samsung's epic legal conflict, patents have become the new currency among tech giants. Dull-sounding legal instruments have become all-important, not necessarily because of their financial worth but for their strategic and marketing value. Simply put, patents are a means to gaining a competitive advantage.

????A verdict in that marquee case seems to have done little to alter that trend. So-called LTE -- the term stands for "long-term evolution" -- is the next wireless technology that IT industry leaders from device makers to software developers and network operators are pursuing as consumers demand faster and more reliable networks. LTE technology also provides second-tier players such as LG Electronics and Nokia (NOK) who lagged badly during the heyday of 3G devices an attempt to catch up with the likes of Samsung and Apple (AAPL), which together own more than half of the current smartphone market.

????LG Electronics, for one, recently boasted that it holds the largest number of LTE patents, estimated to be worth around $8 billion according to intellectual property consulting firms. "Since the smartphone boom, the most efficient way to affirm their position is patents," says Alex Lee, an IP strategy expert at TechIPm, of technology companies. "LG has a good strategy to position [itself] with strong 4G portfolios...it has more than $40 million of base value, and it can utilize the patents for licensing or sell them, the values would be huge," Lee adds. (The terms 4G and LTE are often used interchangeably.)

????On the other hand, some criticize the hype of strategic value of patents. In other words, LG will have to honor its licensing commitments. "As a result, it will get some financial value out of those patents, but it won't be able to leverage them against a rival such as Apple," Florian Mueller, a patent expert, wrote in an email. And since companies in most patent lawsuits end up settling for cross-licensing deals, the only clear winners in the end may be the lawyers, notes Lee Sun Tae, an analyst at NH Securities and Investment in Seoul.

????And yet, major companies have increasingly struck deals involving wireless technology patents in the last few years. Just last month, Intel (INTC) bought $375 million worth of patents on 3G, 4G LTE and Wi-Fi technologies from InterDigital, a wireless technology developer and licensor. More notably last year, bankrupt Nortel Networks auctioned off its LTE patents to a consortium of key players including Apple, EMC (EMC), Ericsson, Microsoft (MSFT), Research In Motion (RIMM) and Sony (SNE) for a total price of $4.5 billion. Google (GOOG) boosted its patent cache by acquiring Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion last August.

????Why has LTE proved so central? LTE technologies are at the nexus of some of the most important trends in technology. These include spectrum efficiency, data transfer and speed, and power management of devices, according to Neil Shah, a senior analyst with Strategy Analytics. In effect, LTE patents permeate nearly every aspect of popular consumer gizmos and services.

????For instance, to increase data speed, operators are working to improve spectrum efficiency by using a technology dubbed carrier aggregation, which combines multiple bandwidths into one data link. Another technology to improve quality and speed of data transfer involves what's called "multiple input multiple output," or MIMO, which employs multiple antennas in cell towers and on devices to transfer more data at the same time. Currently, LTE networks use two antennas and are expected to expand to eight in the future. The challenge lies with hardware makers trying to pack more advanced components into phones that are always becoming thinner.