Apple Acquires 1,024 Patents from Rockstar Consortium to Beef Up Portfolio

rockstar consortium

According to a report from the Yonhap News (via Business Insider), Apple has purchased 1,024 patents from Rockstar Consortium (formerly Rockstar Bidco), the patent company created by Apple (which owns a 58% stake), Microsoft, Research In Motion, Sony, and Ericsson that acquired 4000 of Nortel’s remaining patents for $4.5 billion dollars last July.

Rockstar Consortium describes itself as: 

Rockstar is an intellectual property (IP) licensing company. We celebrate the value and power of innovation: the ideas that fuel a better way of doing things. Based on Nortel Networks’ groundbreaking innovation engine, Rockstar manages a highly valued patent portfolio relevant to all telecom and high tech services and devices. We count among our most valuable assets a professional staff of technology industry veterans—many of whom were part of Nortel’s innovation engine, and are inventors and patent holders themselves.

Yonhap News noted the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Association (KIPRA) detailed 1,024 of Rockstar’s patents were transferred to Apple on November 13th, with 695 of those currently registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office. There is no word on how many of these patents are related to telecommunications.

Last July, it was reported Apple spent $2 billion for the rights to Nortel’s LTE patents. These could come in handy as Samsung has sued Apple over its iPhone 5, alleging it infringes on the Korean company’s LTE patents. 

Rockstar Consortium was extensively profiled by Wired back in May.

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