Rooting for or against LG
I would prefer it if LG lost market share, even down to zero. We'd still have their money, and then could get paid more by the other manufacturers who took their share. Double royalties!
You are exactly right, however those that disagree with you also have a point.
There are two ways to look at LG - one is thinking with your wallet. Since they are paying a fixed amount (there is disagreement on the threshold issue, but we can all agree it won't be lower than $285 mil), IDCC earnings will not be hurt if LG sales fall. Also when negotiating new licenses LG will be a benchmark. The more they sell the lower the effective per unit licensing rate is. That could affect how much we can charge under the non-discriminatory part of FRAND in future licenses. So from a selfish, what is best for IDCC standpoint, any LG sales in excess of the amount needed for them to be solvent enough to pay the last two installments are not good for IDCC. While we are not currently getting paid for sales by the other big five, the expectation is that past sales will be counted and paid when we do license with them. So for the purely greedy standpoint, having LG struggle would help with future earning potential.
However, there is another, quite different view that many have. LG did the right thing. They stepped up and acknowledged their responsibility to pay fair royalties and entered into a contract with IDCC. They deserve our respect and support for being upstanding corporate citizens. Further, if LG were to struggle while the unethical foot-draggers prosper it would send a bad signal out to the corporate world. Seeing LG have great success will be gratifying from a "do the right thing" and "wishing the best for your friends" standpoint.
I believe there is validity in both views. Both conclusions can be supported depending on what your investing premise is - either maximizing profit however possible or making money in a fair and just system and being loyal to your friends. Which side am I on? Well, I am kind of in the middle. I don’t want LG to zoom to market dominance, nor do I want them to fall on hard times. Let’s just say I’ll be very happy to one day get the call that IDCCs price has hit triple digits on my LG phone and call my wife and kids on their LG phones.
Frank
AI
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