Last summer, telecom giant Nortel saw its over 20 year old patent collection go up for auction. The collection of technology consists of internet, communication, and various other networking patents. All and all, there are over 4,000 patents.
The collection sold for $4.5 billion to Rockstar Consortium, a conglomerate of technology giants including Apple, Microsoft, RIM, Ericsson and Sony. The $4.5 million was a bargain as the portfolio took tens of billions to develop. Anyway, there was some good news for the Rockstar group today.
The Department of Justice reviewed the sale during a mandatory waiting time which takes place when intellectual property is changing hands. Rockstar is pleased to announce, they have been given the green light. It is time to pursue licensing agreements for the technology patents.
John Veschi, Chief Executive Officer of Rockstar, and formerly Chief IP Officer of Nortel commented on the news:
“We are pleased to emerge from this review process, and are looking forward to working with technology related companies to provide them with access to Rockstar’s technology.”
“The entire industry has benefitted from Nortel’s groundbreaking innovations, and we are eager to work with them to establish licenses enabling the continued use of this technology.”
Nortel filed for bankruptcy before the patents went up for auction this past summer. The company was over one hundred years old. Now that the technology giants of today have their hands on the right, there’s no telling what new projects may come out of it.
I look forward to hearing more about Rockstar Consortium, it isn’t often when competitors come together to pool resources on a deal like this. It’s truly a monumental business transaction.
