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Nortel Patents Sold to Consortium which Includes Apple
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He Say You Brade Runner... Tell Him I'm Eating.
Yes... the next iPhone Skin Job........ the Nexus 6
'More iPhone than iPhone' -
Yes... the next iPhone Skin Job........ the Nexus 6
'More iPhone than iPhone' -
Sony and Ericsson were listed as different entities...
What's funny about that? They are different entities after all...
It would have made no sense at all for the separate, joint mobile phone company to take their place here.
Great! Their parent companies put fingers in the pie instead of the joint venture entity that makes all their phones... next.
So each parent company hedges in case they decide to split later... that's confidence for ya... anyway.
Yes... the next iPhone Skin Job........ the Nexus 6
'More iPhone than iPhone' -
Yes, both of them were iPhone skin jobs
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People seem to be forgetting there was a lot more to this than phone patents. Nortel had a lot of high end networking patents, Ericcsson's core business, as well as patents in software and networking generally. The reason that they entered as parent companies is they wanted different things.
It's worth noting these patents were more about networking products.
Thex1138 said:
People seem to be forgetting there was a lot more to this than phone patents. Nortel had a lot of high end networking patents, Ericcsson's core business, as well as patents in software and networking generally. The reason that they entered as parent companies is they wanted different things.
It's worth noting these patents were more about networking products.
I don't understand how does that company declare bankruptcy? Don't companies use their patents -> give them some steady income? Although "bankruptcy" is subjective, they just made 4,5billions, I don't think they're bankrupt any more
Bankruptcy in its purest form is having less assets than liabilities. The fact that you own a patent doesnt mean that you are actually earning money for a start. You could have the patent on cold fusion but not earning any money as no-one might be licensing the patent.
Also in terms of bankruptcy - the value attributed to the patent asset might be a lot less than the amount paid at this point. Think of it as a fire sale - for bankruptcy purposes they might value the patent a lot lower than it was eventually sold for.
Finally - although they got $4.5Bn for the patents - they might have had $10Bn in liabilities...
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So does each company have access to all patents both for products and legal offense/defense?
So does each company have access to all patents both for products and legal offense/defense?
Google's bid...
Many People were expecting Google to bid on the Nortel patents. But one has to take into consideration that Android costs Google already a lot of money and I wonder how much they get back from it. I guess Google just wasn't prepared to pay billions for patents just to protect the Android licensees.
Many People were expecting Google to bid on the Nortel patents. But one has to take into consideration that Android costs Google already a lot of money and I wonder how much they get back from it. I guess Google just wasn't prepared to pay billions for patents just to protect the Android licensees.
99% of comments reveal people aren't or have yet to have a long history working in the heavy IT industry. Nortel was one of the big boys until mismanagement took over.
Google's response
This outcome is disappointing for anyone who believes that open innovation benefits users and promotes creativity and competition,
Google's hypocrisy goes to 11.
This outcome is disappointing for anyone who believes that open innovation benefits users and promotes creativity and competition,
Google's hypocrisy goes to 11.
Yep but it won't stop them from spouting off as if they are experts.
From an Apple perspective this is a big win. It provides more leverage for them when negotiating with vendors and companies for future iOS components. It also provides a shared revenue stream. The only surprise for me is that RIM is a part of this. Apple must feel good about their strategic direction to consort with them. Or there are behind the scenes things taking shape that won't be revealed for some time to come.
Yes... Networking, exchanges, comms equipment, infrastructure design.
Yes I do know. But the focus of the chatter is about phone competitiveness.
Yes... the next iPhone Skin Job........ the Nexus 6
'More iPhone than iPhone' -
Do you like our phone?
Must be expensive.
Very.
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So this "consortium" exists as an agreement between major players in the telecom industry to limit the use of these technologies to its members, thereby locking out new competitors? In my great-granddaddy's day they called that a "trust", and passed laws against it.
I doubt they've bought them to limit access to other companies, it's more likely they want to gain leverage for cross-licensing with the other LTE patent holders.
Nope.
It's still against anti-trust laws to withhold a group of patents vital to an industry.
That's why the government had a little talk with Apple before they bid in the auction. All the other companies have a long history of licensing patents. Apple does not.
I also suspect this auction is involved with why Apple made a deal for Nokia licenses so suddenly. I think they were showing the government that they could play nice and/or it was a requirement to be a consortium member.