Ericsson has played a major role in scooping up Nortel's assets; Ericsson won most of Nortel's CDMA and LTE assets for $1.13 billion in 2009 and also won Nortel's North American GSM business. According to Nortel,' the extensive patent portfolio touches nearly every aspect of telecommunications and additional markets as well, including Internet search and social networking.' The final auction price of $4.5 billion is a dramatic increase from the $900 million that Google first offered for the patents back in April.
| Traded as | NASDAQ:SPEX
|
|---|---|
| Industry | Patent monetization |
Key people | |
| Website | www.ip-rockstar.com |
Rockstar Consortium Inc., originally named Rockstar Bidco,[1] is a consortium formed to negotiate licensing for patents acquired from the bankrupt multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer Nortel.[2][3] Members of the consortium are Apple Inc., BlackBerry, Ericsson, Microsoft, and Sony.[4] Rockstar is a patent holding non-practicing entity (NPE) and submitted the winning US$4.5 billion bid for the Nortel patents at a week-long auction held in New York in June 2011.[5]
Spherix Incorporated, a company founded by Gilbert Levin, has acquired four families of mobile communication patents from the Rockstar Consortium in exchange for initial consideration of up-front cash and Spherix common stock.[6] Rockstar will also receive a percentage of future profits from Spherix after recovery of patent monetization costs and an initial priority return on investment to Spherix.
Including the patent sale, Nortel has realized roughly $7.7 billion from its asset sales. 'This truly is a ‘wow' transaction,' said David Botter, an attorney representing Nortel's official.
In 2012, Business Insider listed Rockstar as number 3 on its list of the 8 most fearsome patent trolls in industry.[7] Wired magazine notes that some call them a 'straight-up patent troll'.[8]
In October 2013, Rockstar had initiated legal action against eight companies,[9] including Google, Huawei and Samsung,[10] as well as other makers of Android phones including Asustek, HTC, LG Electronics, Pantech, and ZTE.[11]
In December 2013, Google initiated legal action against Rockstar, with a countersuit filed in San Jose, California.[12]
In November 2014, it was reported that Rockstar and Google had come to a settlement.[13]
In December 2014, Rockstar agreed to sell 4000 of its patents to RPX Corporation, a defensive patent aggregator.[14]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^McMillan, Robert (May 21, 2012). 'How Apple and Microsoft Armed 4,000 Patent Warheads'. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
- ^'Rockstar Consortium Launches Patent Attacks'. techweekeurope.co.uk. May 28, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-06-01.
- ^Hill, Bert (April 18, 2012). 'Transforming Nortel's patents into gold: Rockstar Consortium sets up shop in Kanata'. Ottawa Citizen. p. D1. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^'Rockstar Consortium Receives Green Light From Department Of Justice'(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 2012-03-24.
- ^'Star Man'(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on November 2, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
- ^'Spherix Closes Rockstar Patent Acquisition Transaction'(PDF). Retrieved September 8, 2013.
- ^'Tech's 8 Most Fearsome 'Patent Trolls''. 2012-11-25. Retrieved 2013-12-20.
- ^'How Apple and Microsoft Armed 4,000 Patent Warheads'. 2012-05-21. Retrieved 2013-12-20.
- ^'New Patent cases involving Rockstar'. Docket Alarm, Inc. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
- ^Levine, Dan (October 31, 2013). 'Google, Samsung, Huawei sued over Nortel patents'. Reuters.
- ^Mullin, Joe (November 1, 2013). 'Patent war goes nuclear: Microsoft, Apple-owned 'Rockstar' sues Google'. Ars Technica.
- ^Michelle Meyers (26 December 2013). 'Google fights back against Rockstar patent group'. CNET.
- ^Jeff John Roberts (20 November 2014). 'Apple-backed Rockstar ends patent war on Android, deal suggests'. GigaOM.
- ^Ashby Jones (23 December 2014). 'Rockstar Consortium to Sell 4,000 Patents to RPX Corp. for $900 Million'. Wall Street Journal.
Bankruptcy courts in Canada and the United States on Monday approved the sale of 6,000 patents held by defunct Nortel Networks Corp. to a partnership of six leading technology companies in a deal worth $4.5 billion US.
The ruling means that the purchasing group will now get access to Nortel patents and applications in internet and wireless technology, important for participants such as Microsoft Inc., which can use the technology to compete with the likes of Google Inc. and its Android handheld device.
The American Antitrust Institute, a Washington-based organization that opines on anti-trust and monopoly matters, asked the U.S. Department of Justice to examine the patent sale to the consortium, which includes Microsoft, Apple Inc., Research In Motion Inc., Sony, EMC Corp. and Ericsson.
'[The consortium's] collective control over the massive Nortel portfolio could enable and incent them to enforce the patents to suppress mobile device competition,' the institute said in its letter.
Ericsson has played a major role in scooping up Nortel's assets; Ericsson won most of Nortel's CDMA and LTE assets for $1.13 billion in 2009 and also won Nortel's North American GSM business. According to Nortel,' the extensive patent portfolio touches nearly every aspect of telecommunications and additional markets as well, including Internet search and social networking.' The final auction price of $4.5 billion is a dramatic increase from the $900 million that Google first offered for the patents back in April.
| Traded as | NASDAQ:SPEX
|
|---|---|
| Industry | Patent monetization |
Key people | |
| Website | www.ip-rockstar.com |
Rockstar Consortium Inc., originally named Rockstar Bidco,[1] is a consortium formed to negotiate licensing for patents acquired from the bankrupt multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer Nortel.[2][3] Members of the consortium are Apple Inc., BlackBerry, Ericsson, Microsoft, and Sony.[4] Rockstar is a patent holding non-practicing entity (NPE) and submitted the winning US$4.5 billion bid for the Nortel patents at a week-long auction held in New York in June 2011.[5]
Spherix Incorporated, a company founded by Gilbert Levin, has acquired four families of mobile communication patents from the Rockstar Consortium in exchange for initial consideration of up-front cash and Spherix common stock.[6] Rockstar will also receive a percentage of future profits from Spherix after recovery of patent monetization costs and an initial priority return on investment to Spherix.
Including the patent sale, Nortel has realized roughly $7.7 billion from its asset sales. 'This truly is a ‘wow' transaction,' said David Botter, an attorney representing Nortel's official.
In 2012, Business Insider listed Rockstar as number 3 on its list of the 8 most fearsome patent trolls in industry.[7] Wired magazine notes that some call them a 'straight-up patent troll'.[8]
In October 2013, Rockstar had initiated legal action against eight companies,[9] including Google, Huawei and Samsung,[10] as well as other makers of Android phones including Asustek, HTC, LG Electronics, Pantech, and ZTE.[11]
In December 2013, Google initiated legal action against Rockstar, with a countersuit filed in San Jose, California.[12]
In November 2014, it was reported that Rockstar and Google had come to a settlement.[13]
In December 2014, Rockstar agreed to sell 4000 of its patents to RPX Corporation, a defensive patent aggregator.[14]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^McMillan, Robert (May 21, 2012). 'How Apple and Microsoft Armed 4,000 Patent Warheads'. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
- ^'Rockstar Consortium Launches Patent Attacks'. techweekeurope.co.uk. May 28, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-06-01.
- ^Hill, Bert (April 18, 2012). 'Transforming Nortel's patents into gold: Rockstar Consortium sets up shop in Kanata'. Ottawa Citizen. p. D1. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^'Rockstar Consortium Receives Green Light From Department Of Justice'(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 2012-03-24.
- ^'Star Man'(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on November 2, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
- ^'Spherix Closes Rockstar Patent Acquisition Transaction'(PDF). Retrieved September 8, 2013.
- ^'Tech's 8 Most Fearsome 'Patent Trolls''. 2012-11-25. Retrieved 2013-12-20.
- ^'How Apple and Microsoft Armed 4,000 Patent Warheads'. 2012-05-21. Retrieved 2013-12-20.
- ^'New Patent cases involving Rockstar'. Docket Alarm, Inc. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
- ^Levine, Dan (October 31, 2013). 'Google, Samsung, Huawei sued over Nortel patents'. Reuters.
- ^Mullin, Joe (November 1, 2013). 'Patent war goes nuclear: Microsoft, Apple-owned 'Rockstar' sues Google'. Ars Technica.
- ^Michelle Meyers (26 December 2013). 'Google fights back against Rockstar patent group'. CNET.
- ^Jeff John Roberts (20 November 2014). 'Apple-backed Rockstar ends patent war on Android, deal suggests'. GigaOM.
- ^Ashby Jones (23 December 2014). 'Rockstar Consortium to Sell 4,000 Patents to RPX Corp. for $900 Million'. Wall Street Journal.
Bankruptcy courts in Canada and the United States on Monday approved the sale of 6,000 patents held by defunct Nortel Networks Corp. to a partnership of six leading technology companies in a deal worth $4.5 billion US.
The ruling means that the purchasing group will now get access to Nortel patents and applications in internet and wireless technology, important for participants such as Microsoft Inc., which can use the technology to compete with the likes of Google Inc. and its Android handheld device.
The American Antitrust Institute, a Washington-based organization that opines on anti-trust and monopoly matters, asked the U.S. Department of Justice to examine the patent sale to the consortium, which includes Microsoft, Apple Inc., Research In Motion Inc., Sony, EMC Corp. and Ericsson.
'[The consortium's] collective control over the massive Nortel portfolio could enable and incent them to enforce the patents to suppress mobile device competition,' the institute said in its letter.
The Department of Justice has said it is examining the patent sale.
Auction action
Attorneys for Nortel and its official committee of unsecured creditors praised the results of the patent auction. Nortel attorney Lisa Schweitzer said the final price, which came after 19 rounds of bidding, is more than the combined total received from Nortel's previous bankruptcy asset sales. Including the patent sale, Nortel has realized roughly $7.7 billion from its asset sales.
'This truly is a ‘wow' transaction,' said David Botter, an attorney representing Nortel's official creditors committee.
Nortel Patents Fetch $4.5 Billionaire
Derrick Tay, an attorney representing Nortel in Canada, said the auction is a 'shining example' of what can be achieved in a bankruptcy case.
'I don't believe a dollar was left on the table,' Tay told Ontario Superior Court of Justice Judge Geoffrey Morawetz, who conducted the joint hearing with U.S. bankruptcy court Judge Kevin Gross in Delaware via videoconference.
Company's end
Monday's decision represents the final word on Nortel, the once-dominant technology giant that failed to compete as the wireless world soared beyond first-generation cellphones. The patents, which raised four times the amount of cash expected, were the last remaining substantial asset the company could sell to cover outstanding debts.
The Canadian company filed for protection from its creditors in 2009 after a series of restructurings failed to improve profitability and an accounting scandal destroyed investor confidence in Nortel.
Nortel Patents Fetch $4.5 Billions
Nortel rode the initial phase of wireless technology in the early 1990s to global prominence. But the company took a financial pounding as the technology bubble burst in the late 1990s. As a result, Nortel spent the next few years writing off over-inflated assets and trying to sell telephone phone switches to a world that wanted smaller internet-friendly mobile devices.
