Mioty
Massive, secure and powerful LPWAN technology
About MIOTY Licensing Platform
MIOTY is a standardised software-based connectivity solution operating in the licence-free spectrum. It is meant for building massive, secure and powerful private low power wide area networks ("LPWAN"), for large-scale industrial and commercial IoT applications. MIOTY technology is based on the protocol family telegram splitting ultra narrow band (“TS-UNB”) of the ETSI standard TS 103 357 (“TS-UNB Specification”).
Using 100 KHz to 1,5 MHz bandwidth in worldwide licence-free Sub-GHz spectrum, the technology offers robustness thanks to the core invention behind MIOTY: "Telegram Splitting". The technology breaks a data packet into numerous subpackets and distributes them over time and frequency. "Telegram Splitting" enables unmatched robustness against large interferers in a crowded licence-free spectrum, securing highly reliable data connection from MIOTY end nodes to the base station.
MIOTY is promoted by the MIOTY Alliance and its members. Further information is available on the website of the MIOTY Alliance.
What you need to know about private low power wide area networks licenses and patent
Sisvel‘s MIOTY Licensing Platform is a joint licensing platform offering licences to patents necessary to practise the TS-UNB Specification and separately to patents which are deemed complementary to MIOTY implementations.
Please note that OMS devices implementing Splitting Mode according to the Open Metering Specification Vol. 2 and especially Annex Q, may require a license under the TS-UNB Patents. More information is available upon request.
The joint licences address market needs for efficient licensing, making relevant patents more easily accessible and ensuring that all users of the MIOTY technology benefit from the transparency and the convenience of the licence terms available under the programme.
The MIOTY Licensing Platform is offered under a running royalty licence scheme. In addition, relevant products may be licensed under a committed volume scheme. For more details visit the License Terms page.
To foster the development and implementation of MIOTY technology, Sisvel also offers interested parties a special trial agreement to evaluate the technology and its market. More information is available upon request.
Patent Owners
Sisvel has the right to grant non-exclusive licences to patents owned or controlled by:
Apator Miitors ApS
Diehl Metering Systems GmbH
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
Koninklijke KPN N.V.
The MIOTY Licensing Platform remains open to additional patent owners with relevant patents. Thus, Sisvel invites all parties that have patents or patent applications they believe to be essential to the protocol family TS-UNB of the ETSI standard TS 103 357 to contact Sisvel and submit those patent(s) for an evaluation by the programme’s designated, independent evaluators.
Patents
Sisvel has the right to grant non-exclusive licences to patents related to the TS-UNB Specification, as well as patents complementary to MIOTY implementations, listed in the respective patent brochure available per the below links.
The table in the documents allows interested parties to understand how the TS-UNB patents licensed by Sisvel are utilised by products complying with those specifications and, to this end, indicates the relevant sections of the specification. These documents are regularly updated.
Licence Terms
Sisvel offers a royalty-bearing, non-transferable, non-assignable, non-exclusive licence, with no right to grant sub-licences, to patents essential to the TS-UNB Specification (adopted by ETSI as formally specified in the document TS 103 357).
The patent owners hold additional patents which are not essential to the TS-UNB Specification, but which are deemed complementary to MIOTY implementations. An additional licence to these patents is also offered. The MIOTY Portfolio Licence Agreement offered by Sisvel covers any end products implementing TS-UNB functionality.
The MIOTY Portfolio Licence Agreement does not cover components or sub-assemblies, such as, without limitation, chipsets, semiconductor components, embedded modules or firmware components.
The royalty rates are offered on a per product basis, respectively applicable only for end devices making use of the TS-UNB Specification, as per the table below:
Combined royalty rates for licences to the TS-UNB Patents and to the Complementary Patents
Product category | Standard Rate | Compliant Rate |
|---|---|---|
Unidirectional End Point | EUR 0.40 | EUR 0.32 |
Bidirectional End Point | EUR 1.00 | EUR 0.80 |
Gateway | EUR 10.00 | EUR 8.00 |
Provided a licensee is in full compliance with its obligations under the MIOTY licence agreement, the royalty rate payable for each licensed product shall be subject to the Compliant Rate.
As an alternative to a running royalty scheme as per above, a committed volume scheme can be chosen. Under such scheme, the royalty shall be paid in advance per calendar year for the committed volumes of a relevant TS-UNB product category. For more details visit the Committed Volumes page.
Separate licence under the TS-UNB Patents
Product category | Standard Rate | Compliant Rate |
|---|---|---|
Unidirectional End Point | EUR 0.32 | EUR 0.26 |
Bidirectional End Point | EUR 0.80 | EUR 0.65 |
Gateway | EUR 8.00 | EUR 6.50 |
Provided a licensee is in full compliance with its obligations under the MIOTY licence agreement, the royalty rate payable for each licensed product shall be subject to the Compliant Rate.
As an alternative to a running royalty scheme as per above, a committed volume scheme can be chosen. Under such scheme, the royalty shall be paid in advance per calendar year for the committed volumes of a relevant TS-UNB product category. For more details visit the Committed Volumes page.
Additional licence under the Complementary Patents
Product category | Standard Rate | Compliant Rate |
|---|---|---|
Unidirectional End Point | EUR 0.08 | EUR 0.06 |
Bidirectional End Point | EUR 0.20 | EUR 0.15 |
Gateway | EUR 2.00 | EUR 1.50 |
Provided a licensee is in full compliance with its obligations under the MIOTY licence agreement, the royalty rate payable for each licensed product shall be subject to the Compliant Rate.
As an alternative to a running royalty scheme as per above, a committed volume scheme can be chosen. Under such scheme, the royalty shall be paid in advance per calendar year for the committed volumes of a relevant TS-UNB product category. For more details visit the Committed Volumes page.
More information is available upon request.
DOCUMENTS
For your convenience, please find below documentation for supporting your completion of a licence application and to assist in your compliance to running licence terms:
Committed Volumes
Committed Volumes scheme combined licence under the TS-UNB Patents and the Complementary Patents
Unidirectional End Points
Minimum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Maximum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Applicable royalty rate per unit |
|---|---|---|
1 | 200,000 | EUR 0.304 |
200,001 | 500,000 | EUR 0.288 |
500,001 | 1,000,000 | EUR 0.256 |
1,000,001 | 3,000,000 | EUR 0.224 |
3,000,001 | 5,000,000 | EUR 0.192 |
5,000,001 or above |
| EUR 0.160 |
Bidirectional End Points
Minimum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Maximum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Applicable royalty rate per unit |
|---|---|---|
1 | 200,000 | EUR 0.760 |
200,001 | 500,000 | EUR 0.720 |
500,001 | 1,000,000 | EUR 0.640 |
1,000,001 | 3,000,000 | EUR 0.560 |
3,000,001 | 5,000,000 | EUR 0.480 |
5,000,001 or above |
| EUR 0.400 |
Gateways
Minimum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Maximum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Applicable royalty rate per unit |
|---|---|---|
1 | 3,000 | EUR 7.60 |
3,001 | 10,000 | EUR 7.20 |
10,001 | 30,000 | EUR 6.40 |
30,001 | 50,000 | EUR 5.60 |
50,001 | 100,000 | EUR 4.80 |
100,001 or above |
| EUR 4.00 |
Committed Volumes scheme separate licence under the TS-UNB Patents
Unidirectional End Points
Minimum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Maximum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Applicable royalty rate per unit |
|---|---|---|
1 | 200,000 | EUR 0.247 |
200,001 | 500,000 | EUR 0.234 |
500,001 | 1,000,000 | EUR 0.208 |
1,000,001 | 3,000,000 | EUR 0.182 |
3,000,001 | 5,000,000 | EUR 0.156 |
5,000,001 or above |
| EUR 0.130 |
Bidirectional End Points
Minimum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Maximum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Applicable royalty rate per unit |
|---|---|---|
1 | 200,000 | EUR 0.618 |
200,001 | 500,000 | EUR 0.585 |
500,001 | 1,000,000 | EUR 0.520 |
1,000,001 | 3,000,000 | EUR 0.455 |
3,000,001 | 5,000,000 | EUR 0.390 |
5,000,001 or above |
| EUR 0.325 |
Gateways
Minimum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Maximum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Applicable royalty rate per unit |
|---|---|---|
1 | 3,000 | EUR 6.18 |
3,001 | 10,000 | EUR 5.85 |
10,001 | 30,000 | EUR 5.20 |
30,001 | 50,000 | EUR 4.55 |
50,001 | 100,000 | EUR 3.90 |
100,001 or above |
| EUR 3.25 |
Committed Volumes scheme additional licence under the Complementary Patents
Unidirectional End Points
Minimum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Maximum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Applicable royalty rate per unit |
|---|---|---|
1 | 200,000 | EUR 0.057 |
200,001 | 500,000 | EUR 0.054 |
500,001 | 1,000,000 | EUR 0.048 |
1,000,001 | 3,000,000 | EUR 0.042 |
3,000,001 | 5,000,000 | EUR 0.036 |
5,000,001 or above |
| EUR 0.030 |
Bidirectional End Points
Minimum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Maximum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Applicable royalty rate per unit |
|---|---|---|
1 | 200,000 | EUR 0.143 |
200,001 | 500,000 | EUR 0.135 |
500,001 | 1,000,000 | EUR 0.120 |
1,000,001 | 3,000,000 | EUR 0.105 |
3,000,001 | 5,000,000 | EUR 0.090 |
5,000,001 or above |
| EUR 0.075 |
Gateways
Minimum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Maximum Commitment threshold (no. of units) | Applicable royalty rate per unit |
|---|---|---|
1 | 3,000 | EUR 1.43 |
3,001 | 10,000 | EUR 1.35 |
10,001 | 30,000 | EUR 1.20 |
30,001 | 50,000 | EUR 1.05 |
50,001 | 100,000 | EUR 0.90 |
100,001 or above |
| EUR 0.75 |
More information is available upon request.
FAQs concerning the MIOTY Patent Licensing Program of Sisvel*
Contents
General Information
Royalty Information
Contractual Information
Reporting Information
General Information
What is MIOTY and why are MIOTY patent licenses needed?
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS and Diehl Metering GmbH are working together under the brand name “MIOTY” in the area of wireless technology for low-power wide area networks. MIOTY technology is based on the protocol family telegram splitting ultra narrow band (“TS-UNB”)** as defined and published in the ETSI standard TS 103 357 V1.1.1 (“TS-UNB Specification”). Both entities hold patents which are essential to the TS-UNB Specification (“TS-UNB Patents”) and they hold additional patents which are not essential to the TS-UNB Specification, but which are deemed complementary to MIOTY implementations (“Complementary Patents”). Since the launch of the program additional patent owner(s) have joined. If an implementer wants to use a technology which is protected by patents, it needs a license in order to avoid being held liable for patent infringement.
MIOTY technology is a standardized wireless connectivity technology for massive IoT, and based on the protocol family telegram splitting ultra narrow band (“TS-UNB”)** as defined and published in the ETSI standard TS 103 357 V1.1.1 (“TS-UNB Specification”). Many of the inventions in the MIOTY technology are protected by patents. An implementer of the MIOTY technology may therefore risk being liable for patent infringement unless it has secured the necessary licenses. The MIOTY licensing program has been authorized to license patents held by the following Patent Owners. This allows a licensee to the MIOTY licensing program to replace a multitude of discussions, license agreements, sales reporting obligations and invoices, with a single license, single reporting and single royalty payment.
Who is ETSI and what standards does it publish?
ETSI stands for European Telecommunications Standards Institute, which is an independent, non-profit, standardization organization in the field of information and communications. ETSI supports the development and testing of global technical standards for ICT-enabled systems, applications and services. ETSI is a key player on the international standards scene and publishes between 2,000 and 2,500 standards every year. These include the standards that enable key global technologies such as GSMTM, 3G, 4G, 5G, DECTTM, smart cards and many more standard success stories.
What are standard essential TS-UNB Patents and what are non-essential Complementary Patents in the MIOTY licensing program?
The MIOTY licensing program defines Essential TS-UNB Patents** as any and all enforceable claims, but only such claims, included in patents Held by TS-UNB Patent Owners or their Patent Owners’ Affiliates, that, under applicable law, are either necessarily infringed or (in the absence of a (sub)license) the practice of which, as a practical matter, cannot be avoided in remaining compliant with the TS-UNB Specification. Non-essential Complementary Patents are defined in the MIOTY licensing program as patents Held by Patent Owner that contain claims that are believed in good faith not to be technically necessary for compliance with the TS-UNB Specification but which are commonly used in TS-UNB Products.
Who is Sisvel and what is its involvement with MIOTY?
Sisvel is a patent pool administrator, that has been engaged by the participating patent owners to act as an independent administrator to manage and administrate the MIOTY patent licensing program. This includes that Sisvel has obtained the rights from participating patent owners to grant the sublicenses set forth in the relevant license agreements to interested parties.
Sisvel is not active in any relevant product business. It is privately owned, has no affiliation with any patent owner or licensee and is not in competition with any licensee.
Headquartered in Luxembourg, Sisvel has offices around the globe, including Japan, Hong Kong, Italy, Spain and USA. The MIOTY patent licensing program makes the licensing process more streamlined and efficient compared to negotiating individual licenses with each of the patent owners.
Which IP is covered /not covered by the license?
The MIOTY licensing program offers a license under patents essential to the TS-UNB Specification (TS-UNB Patents) and belonging to the participating patent owners. The patent owners also hold additional patents which are not essential to the TS-UNB Specification, but which are deemed complementary to MIOTY implementations (Complementary Patents). A license to these Complementary Patents) is also offered through the same MIOTY licensing program.
The license does not include any other IP rights belonging to the participating patent owners, such as software, copyrights or trademarks, and it does not include any IP rights of any non-participating patent owner.
Who needs a MIOTY patent license?
In general, if you use a technology in your products which is protected by third party patent rights, you either need a license or make sure that your product stems from a licensed source. The MIOTY licensing program licenses end products such as end points/sensors and gateway products adopting the TS-UNB Specification (“TS-UNB Products”). Sisvel stands ready to support you in confirming whether you require a license for your products and to support you to understand if your supplier is duly licensed or not.
What products are covered by the license?
The MIOTY licensing program offers a license to TS-UNB capable end devices such as sensors, metering and smart metering devices and/or gateways. Components are not covered by the license.
OMS devices implementing Splitting Mode according to the Open Metering Specification Vol. 2 and especially Annex Q, may also require a license under the TS-UNB Patents.
If needed, Sisvel’s licensing specialists stand ready to support you in assessing if a product will be covered by the MIOTY licensing program or not.
I work at a university (as researcher or student). Do I need a MIOTY patent license?
Non-commercial research is, in general, exempt. You can therefore utilize the MIOTY technology for research and scientific work, but not for commercial activities or offering it to third parties. If in doubt, Sisvel’s licensing specialists stand ready to support you in any assessment with regard to the need of a license.
Royalty Information
How much does a license to the MIOTY patents cost?
The royalty rates per device for both TS-UNB Patents and Complementary Patents under the MIOTY licensing program are as follows:
Royalty rates for licenses under the TS-UNB Patents and the Complementary Patents ***
Product category | Joint Standard Rate | Joint Compliant Rate |
Unidirectional End Point | EUR 0.40 | EUR 0.32 |
Bidirectional End Point | EUR 1.00 | EUR 0.80 |
Gateway | EUR 10.00 | EUR 8.00 |
The Joint Compliant Rate applies to licensees who are in full compliance with its obligations under the MIOTY licensing program. The royalty rate is only due once for each device and there are no additional running costs.
For further details on the license offers please see our website at MIOTY Joint Licensing Program - License Terms. As an alternative to these running royalties, Sisvel also offers a committed volume scheme under which a discounted royalty shall be paid in advance per calendar year for the committed volumes of a relevant TS-UNB product category. For further details please see our website under MIOTY Joint Licensing Program - Committed Volumes
Who needs to pay MIOTY license fees and when?
The license fee (royalty) is to be paid once in the production chain of the end product. If the production chain includes several licensees (e.g. manufacturer, system integrator) the fee only needs to be paid once (normally by the manufacturer). Each licensee must report for the manufactured units on a regular basis as set forth in the relevant license agreement and pay the corresponding royalties.
Will the royalty rate increase over time?
After you sign a license agreement, the parties are bound by the agreed rates for the duration of the agreement. This means that the royalty rate cannot be changed unilaterally by either of the parties until the agreed term has expired.
Contractual Information
What is the term of the license?
The MIOTY licensing program has two standard options, i.e. 5 or 10 years, each with an option to extend the term for an additional 5 years.
If I want to “try/test” commercially the technology in the beginning only for a limited number of products, do I need to sign the standard patent license agreement?
The MIOTY licensing program offers a Trial/Pioneering agreement for companies who wish to evaluate the MIOTY technology. Parties who are interested in such a trial agreement may reach out to Sisvel for more details.
Which version and features of MIOTY are covered by the patent license agreement?
The license agreement covers all technical features that are present in the TS-UNB specification of the current version V1.1.1. of ETSI standard TS 103 357. Also, it includes subsequent versions or updates of the ETSI standard TS 103 357 but only to the extent that it concerns features or functionalities already included in version V1.1.1.
Which patent owners are participating in the MIOTY licensing program?
Please see Patent Owners for a list of the current participating patent owners in the MIOTY licensing program. The licensing program is and remains open and welcomes additional patent owners who holds relevant MIOTY patents.
Which countries are covered by the patent license agreement?
The current geographical coverage of the MIOTY licensing program is illustrated in the patent brochures which are publicly available on TS-UNB Patents and Complementary Patents. These brochures are updated regularly.
Reporting Information
What should a licensee report to Sisvel?
The reports submitted to the MIOTY licensing program shall include the following information for each reported device:
model number
product description e.g., unidirectional or bidirectional sensor, gateway
brand or trademark
IEEE EUI or an equivalent unique identifier
country of manufacturer
country of sale (only required in case country of manufacturer is not covered by patents)
manufacturer or supplier name (in case IEEE EUI is not provided)
number of units
Licensees may also on a voluntary basis report the name of the direct customer either in clean or anonymized form. This information is not required but will be helpful to clarify potential discrepancies and to identify licensed products on the market. Furthermore, it enables customers to validate the license status of purchased products with Sisvel so that they are confident that they are dealing with duly licensed products.
How often do I have to send the reports to Sisvel?
The usual reporting and invoicing interval is on a quarterly basis. However, to facilitate the implementation of the MIOTY technology, Sisvel is temporarily offering an annual reporting at the beginning of the licensing program as long as a certain threshold of units is not exceeded.
What is the reporting process (workflow of reporting)?
Sisvel will provide you with a reporting form once you have signed a license agreement. The document sets forth the information you are required to report to assist Sisvel to identify your licensed TS-UNB Products. You will also receive a short introduction paper as regards the necessary content of the reporting form. The Sisvel team is available for online meetings to introduce the tool to the licensees and assist with the reporting.
* This document is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be legally binding in any respect on any party. This document does not constitute legal advice. There shall be no contractual obligations unless a written agreement is duly executed by each party’s authorized legal representatives. In case of any dispute between this document and any license agreements, the wording of the agreement prevails.
** Terms in brackets and quotation marks are considered defined terms for the purpose of this FAQ. When the term is later used in capitalized form, it should be understood as defined before in the text.
*** Please note that a license only under the TS-UNB Patents is also offered.