Last year, Apple, Microsoft, EMC, RIM, Sony, and others banded together to win a $4.5 billion bid for more than 6,000 patents from bankrupt network equipment maker Nortel. The group, called "Rockstar Consortium" says it has received final approval from the US Department of Justice for the acquisition of the patents.

nortel logo1
Among others, antitrust regulators from the Federal Trade Commission, Canadian authorities, and Nortel's bankruptcy court have previously signed off on the purchase. Just after the purchase last year, it was rumored that Apple had contributed more than half of the total purchase -- $2.6 billion -- and received outright ownership of a number of the key patents in Nortel's portfolio, with the other companies in the consortium receiving licensed rights to the patents.

Now that the legal hurdles are out of the way, Rockstar says it will "implement its plans to pursue licensing agreements with companies that are harnessing its intellectual property.” In other words, expect more patent-related lawsuits.

Top Rated Comments

Exotic-Car Man Avatar
174 months ago
More lawsuits = Law Blog

In other words, expect more patent-related lawsuits.
Could we please have a separate blog called "Law" for all of these future lawsuits to go into?

When I first started reading MacRumors about a year and a half ago, (this was even before the latest website layout/remodel) it was a great place to go for Apple news and rumors of new products, and it provided a guidance for when to buy your Apple product. The site still strongly holds those values now, but since Apple has begun being sued left and right about a year ago (give or take a couple months), MacRumors has lost some of the pleasurable reading environment and experience that it used to have. Now, I feel like lawsuit articles are awkwardly spread throughout the Front Page, iOS Blog, and Mac Blog. If these lawsuit articles were in a separate blog, people like me, who are uninterested in these articles, could completely ignore them, but people who enjoy these articles could still read them. I'm sure there's people like me who get perturbed by all of these articles, but there are most likely others who still want to read them.

Thanks.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Medic278 Avatar
174 months ago
And yet another round...... where or where does the merry go round stop?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BC2009 Avatar
174 months ago
but Motorola also has quite a few of the key patents in LTE tech as well.

The Nortel patents are going to be mostly FRAND patents. That is great for money but more worthless if you want to hurt your competitors. I expect some patent trading deals to go on.

Actually, the value of the Nortel portfolio was so high because it was largely unencumbered. In their waining years, Nortel did not renew licenses for patents in their portfolio in order to increase the value of the portfolio. If they had previously offered the patents up for FRAND licensing then the worth of the portfolio probably would not have been $4.5B. Heck, $4.5B for roughly 2,000 patents is a whole lot more than most folks are getting for patent sales.

If they are largely FRAND patents then Rockstar overpaid, but then Apple will likely use the portfolio to take the teeth out of Motorola's FRAND lawsuits (assuming the "Qualcomm already paid for that" defense fails).
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
daxomni Avatar
174 months ago
Could we please have a separate blog called "Law" for all of these future lawsuits to go into?
There are all sorts of threads I'm not interested in. Which is why I read the tread title before clicking on it.

I bought a little Nortel stock a few months before it tanked. It's worth less than a dollar for all my shares now. Who is getting all this $$$$$ that is being paid for these patents? The stockholders should certainly share in that!
$4.5 billion???
You say this with a straight face? In a country where we routinely privatize profits and socialize losses? You must be joking?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nielsenius Avatar
174 months ago
And yet another round...... where or where does the merry go round stop?
It never does. This is business, I guess. Patents are a big deal and companies will go through hell to get/keep them.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rodimus Prime Avatar
174 months ago
Actually, the value of the Nortel portfolio was so high because it was largely unencumbered. In their waining years, Nortel did not renew licenses for patents in their portfolio in order to increase the value of the portfolio. If they had previously offered the patents up for FRAND licensing then the worth of the portfolio probably would not have been $4.5B. Heck, $4.5B for roughly 2,000 patents is a whole lot more than most folks are getting for patent sales.

If they are largely FRAND patents then Rockstar overpaid, but then Apple will likely use the portfolio to take the teeth out of Motorola's FRAND lawsuits (assuming the "Qualcomm already paid for that" defense fails).

It been viewed that anything that gets put into the LTE standard are going to be FRAND no if ands or buts about it. They know it.

If you look at a lot of the 3G patents and for example the one with the current Moto suing Apple. Most of the time companies just cross licences patents over paying FRAND rates. I expect a lot of that to happen here as well.

I think a lot of experts think that Nortal got a great deal. Google back out and did not join with RockStar because that lost the weapon they wanted which was to have others back off on the lawsuits my guess with cross licencing.

The RockStar group did not want Google to get it because that would give Google a huge amount of teeth but as a weapon against Android the patents are rather weak.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card Expanding to More Countries

Tuesday July 8, 2025 7:34 pm PDT by
Apple is expanding the ability to add an Apple Account Card to the Wallet app to more countries, according to backend Apple Pay changes. With iOS 15.5, Apple updated the Wallet app to allow users to add an Apple Account Card, which displays the Apple credit balance associated with an Apple ID. If you receive an Apple gift card, for example, it is added to an Apple Account that is also...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

Leaker Reveals Amount of RAM in iPhone 17 Through iPhone 17 Pro Max

Wednesday July 9, 2025 8:08 am PDT by
Three out of four iPhone 17 models will feature more RAM than the equivalent iPhone 16 models, according to a new leak that aligns with previous rumors. The all-new iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with 12GB of RAM, according to Fixed Focus Digital, an account with more than two million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...