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There are a gazillion patents on radio related stuff. Nearly all standards have associated patents.

Companies already in the industry typically have cross-licensing agreements - ie. I can use your patents if you can use mine. Either that or they just violate each others patents knowing that a patent war would be mutual destruction and in neither companies interests.

But a newcomer has nothing to offer - the minute they release any product, every incumbent company will go through their patent portfolio and sue them out of the water.



Yikes, that sounds pretty harsh. So how would a new player be able do enter?

I thought only the hardware could be patented, not the software, and so SDR would level the playing field, but that's perhaps too naive?




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