The world’s top television makers appear to hold relatively few significant stereoscopic 3D patents according to an initial investigation reported by EE Times. But, there is more to the story.

Art Berman
Insight Media Consultant

Some 184 patents came up in a search of the U.S. patent office Web site for stereoscopic 3D. About half these patents apply to product concepts such as 3DTV, with most of the rest related to a variety of topics including 3D printing.

The earliest of the patents discovered in the search was granted in March 1988 to 3D Video Corp. This patent describes a stereoscopic television system that is comprehensive in scope but dated in its implementation.

Sharp is the leader in stereo 3D intellectual property with at least 11 stereo 3D patents granted since 1995. The value of these patents is indicated by the fact that they have been widely cited - in 99 other filings. Sharp’s patents granted in 2004 and 2006 appear broadly applicable to a wide variety LCD displays that can show 2D and stereo 3D images. The company’s most recent patent, granted in 2007, relates to stereo 3D on an OLED display. Six other patents granted between 1995 and 2003 reference autostereoscopic technology. Use of a spatial light modulator is key in at least five of these patents.

Curiously, the search showed no stereo 3D patents for TV giants including LG, Mitsubishi, Samsung and Sony. We are not sure if this represents a flawed search or reality.

Philips has one patent granted in 2004 on an encoding scheme, which it relates in part to use for stereo 3D video. Toshiba had three patents, but they were related specifically to computer tomography imaging systems. Matsushita had two but only one was related to stereo 3D, and not directly to 3DTV.

During the last two years, interest in stereo 3D seems to be on the rise. The office received about 40 applications on stereo 3D in 2007 alone. Many of the filings did not cite a company but came from individuals or teams in Korea or Japan.

Samsung has filed at least seven and LG has submitted at least three patent applications in the area in less than two years. Samsung’s applications include one on a switchable 2D/3D display, another on a compression technology for stereo 3D and two on autostereoscopic technology.

Starting around 2000, there has been considerable patents activity related to networked content and video streaming, especially to handheld devices.

A number of top electronic companies have one or two interesting patents in stereo 3D. This includes Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, Microsoft, NEC and Nokia.

Microsoft was granted a patent in January on stereoscopic video. The main thrust of the patent is a plug-and-play method of tailoring stereo 3D data to the needs of a specific display. The patent also touches on issues including data formats, compression schemes and capture techniques for stereo 3D. In October 2007 Nokia patented an approach to generating 2D or stereo 3D images from a single data stream.

Many of those filing stereo 3D patents are individual inventors or small startup companies. Jim Fergason is an example of individual patent holder. His 3D invention has been licensed to and commercialized by Planar Systems as the StereoMirror display.

Two smaller companies hold a number of interesting 3D patents. For example, Dynamic Digital Depth has at least five patents primarily relating to encoding techniques. DDD licensed some of its software to Sharp in September 2003, using the code in a laptop containing a switchable 2D/3D display. DDD is now working more heavily with Samsung.

Vrex has four or more 3D patents including the basic micro-pol technology used in a number of 3D monitors and at least one TV. In 2007, it was granted a patent using a DLP engine. (By the way, with six 3D technology experts, Insight Media can assist companies in evaluating patents for various reasons).

What do the trends in patent activity indicate for the prospects of 3D in the home? As usual, the crystal ball is a little cloudy but perhaps the broad outlines of the trend can be identified. The inventive vitality evident in small companies and the growing interest on the part of large Asian based consumer electronic companies seem a clear indication that 3D has reached critical mass. So…3D in the home is going to happen! The cloudy part relates to exactly when.