Google and Apple are among the companies interested in bidding on patents from Nortel, which is dispersing its assets after declaring bankruptcy, according to a report from the Vancouver Sun newspaper.
The two companies want to “build up patent war chests” as they continue competing against established companies, such as Nokia, according to the Vancouver Sun.
Most of the other assets belonging to Nortel were already sold off. Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2009. Money from the series of auctions goes to pay Nortel’s creditors, according to Rethink Wireless.
Final bids for the patents are expected within a few weeks.
The Sun reports that Nortel divided patents into different lots broken up by types of technology. There are six groupings. One round of bidding is completed, the Sun added.
Nortel has more than 4,000 patents. In total, they are estimated to value about $1 billion, the Sun reports. The Sun also reports that the patents cover: wireless handsets and infrastructure, optical and data networking, Internet, Internet advertising, voice and personal computers.
The Sun added that the patents that could be among the more popular are those on third-and fourth-generation wireless technology, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE). Research In Motion, Motorola, and Apple are among the more probable bidders.
At one point, Nortel was considering holding on to some of the more valuable patents, but given the amount of money owed to creditors it is unlikely the Canadian company will hold onto them rather than selling them at the auction, said Rethink Wireless.
InterDigital is part of a group bidding for the Long Term Evolution IPR, Reuters reported. "It's unusual for an asset like that to come to market," the company's CEO, William Merritt, told Reuters.
(c) Reuters
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