There are many industries where companies are starting to focus their activities on acquiring and protecting their company's intellectual property. Strategically, many companies are realizing that intellectual property is one of the most important parts that differentiates them as an individual organization. The essay addresses the rationale behind the focus on intellectual property and evaluates how it now impacts the industry and the companies involved within it. The essay will focus on the mobile phone market with many companies having leading brands in the market. This industry is interesting to evaluate as it is very fast paced with many well-known companies engaged in patent wars. Recently competition within the market has become so fierce that many companies are making acquisitions with competitors to increase their dominance in the market. The main findings of this essay should reveal the impacts on companies and industry, now that companies are focusing their strategic activities on the acquisition and protection of intellectual property. Background Since the introduction of the smartphone, the mobile phone industry has taken off with many companies trying to succeed in the battle to have the best quality phone. In the third quarter of 2013, smartphones accounted for 55% of overall mobile phone sales, with global smartphone sales increasing by 50%. (Johnson, 2013) However, before the creation of handheld smartphones there had been a large number of different versions of cell phones starting in 1938 with the SCR-194 and 195. This was the first portable AM ​​radio produced by the US Army Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories, considered the first “walkie talkie”. (Meyers, 2011) Technology… at the center of the paper… looks pretty bleak, with competition increasing and growth contracting. Once cheaper phones are produced, prices will fall and penetration will increase, which will reduce margins for the manufacturer as consumers will continue to demand high-quality devices. Overall, the activities of companies undertaking acquisitions and protecting their intellectual property will not prevent the industry from declining unless these companies manage to innovate something exceptionally good that is completely new. Apparently, the mobile phone industry is set to see a collapse as many of these companies are already pumping billions of their revenue back into research and development without success. The only way forward for these companies is to find a new strategy or prepare for a decline in sales, which will impact the industry due to many companies leaving as there is no longer any profit to be made..