While analyzing the monetization potential of Panasonic’s patent portfolio, we found that 9400+ assignees were given rejections based on their patents. But a question that was bugging my mind was how many of these rejections were actually 102 rejections (where identified prior art matches each and every element of a patent application’s claim).
With this question in mind, we wanted to understand which competitors of Panasonic were working on similar technologies and which of them were actually getting blocked by them.
To get the required answers we took help from our proprietary tool BOS and found that a total of 2081 assignees were given 102 rejections based on Panasonic’s patents.
The table below provides a list of the top 10 assignees who got the most number of 102 rejections based on Panasonic patents.
| Assignee | Number of 102 Rejections | Applications blocked by 102 rejection |
| Samsung Electronics | 499 | 400 |
| Sony Corporation | 361 | 280 |
| Canon | 242 | 195 |
| Samsung Display | 237 | 181 |
| Sanyo Electric Co | 180 | 141 |
| Qualcomm | 173 | 131 |
| Sharp | 166 | 137 |
| Toshiba | 162 | 130 |
| Samsung SDI Co | 156 | 119 |
| LG Electronics | 126 | 114 |
Which assignees abandoned their applications right after a 102 rejection?
It would be interesting to see which assignees/competitors abandoned their applications right after a 102 rejection was given.
Again, BOS came in handy here. It showed that a total of 458 assignees abandoned their applications right after 102 rejection was given to them.
The below chart provides the list of the top 10 assignees who abandoned their applications right after a 102 rejection was given to them based on Panasonic patents:
| Assignee | Applications abandoned after 102 rejection |
| Sanyo Electric Co | 49 |
| Toshiba | 42 |
| Samsung Electronics | 42 |
| Sharp | 39 |
| Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co | 37 |
| Sony Corporation | 33 |
| Hon Hai Precision Industry | 16 |
| Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute | 15 |
| Epson | 15 |
| Samsung Display Co | 13 |
Following are the technology centers that got most rejections based on Panasonic’s patents:
| Assignee | Technology centers which got most Rejections |
| Sanyo Electric Co | 1. Cable and Television 2. Fuel Cells, Battery, Flammable Gas, Solar Cells, Liquid Crystal Compositions 3. Electrical Circuits and Systems |
| Toshiba | 1. Recording and Compression 2. Telecommunications: Analog Radio Telephone; Satellite and Power Control; Transceivers, Measuring and Testing; Bluetooth; Receivers and Transmitters; Equipment Details 3. Food, Analytical Chemistry, Sterilization, Biochemistry, Electro-chemistry 4. Selective Visual Display Systems |
| Samsung Electronics | 1. Semiconductors/Memory 2. Computer Error Control, Reliability, & Control Systems 3. Cryptography and Security 4. Selective Visual Display Systems |
The above analysis is sourced from our tool, BOS. Some of our clients use it to identify IP monetization or licensing opportunities.