Lee International

Micro LED is a display technology where individual LED elements smaller than 100 micrometers emit light directly.  Compared to LCD and OLED, Micro LED enables slimmer form factors and offers superior contrast ratios through independent control of each light-emitting element.  Additionally, as an inorganic technology, Micro LED is resistant to burn-in and offers lower power consumption, longer lifespan, and faster response times compared to OLED based on organic technology.  These advantages position Micro LED as the next-generation display technology.

Opinions on the Micro LED market are divided.  According to market research firm Trendforce, the Micro LED market is expected to grow from $14 million in 2022 to $27 million in 2023, marking a 92% year-on-year growth, and further to $580 million by 2027, demonstrating an average annual growth rate of 136%.  On the other hand, the Micro LED Association predicts that despite billions of dollars of investment in the Micro LED sector in recent years, the market is still in its early stages.  Due to the high production costs, Micro LED is anticipated to be initially applied to ultra-small micro displays, Micro LED smartwatches, and vehicle displays rather than large displays.

Regarding Micro LED technology-related patents, an analysis of global patents registered with the major patent offices (IP5) shows that over the past ten years, the number of registered Micro LED technology patents nearly doubled from 540 in 2013 to 1,045, with an average annual growth rate of 7.6%.  By nationality of the patent rights holders, South Korea had the most with 23.2% (1,567 cases), followed by Japan with 20.1% (1,360 cases), China with 18.0% (1,217 cases), the United States with 16.0% (1,080 cases), and the European Union with 11.0% (750 cases).  Among the patent rights holders, LG Innotek ranked first with 6.0% (404 cases), followed by Samsung Electronics with 5.7% (384 cases), Semiconductor Energy Laboratory (SEL) with 4.7% (315 cases), Samsung Display with 3.6% (240 cases), and BOE with 3.3% (223 cases).

Meanwhile, China showed a steep annual average growth rate of 37.5% during the same period, followed by the European Union (10.0%), Taiwan (9.9%), South Korea (4.4%), and the United States (4.1%).  This reflects Chinese companies' optimistic outlook on the Micro LED market and their accelerated efforts in technology development and production facility expansion.  With Chinese companies leading the expansion of the Micro LED market, competition for intellectual property rights is expected to intensify further.