Rockstar Consortium Inc., originally named Rockstar Bidco,[1] is a consortium formed to negotiate licensing for patents acquired from the bankrupt multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer Nortel.[2][3] Members of the consortium are Apple Inc., BlackBerry, Ericsson, Microsoft, and Sony.[4] Rockstar is a patent holding non-practicing entity (NPE) and submitted the winning US$4.5 billion bid for the Nortel patents at a week-long auction held in New York in June 2011.[5]
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Spherix Incorporated, a company founded by Gilbert Levin, has acquired four families of mobile communication patents from the Rockstar Consortium in exchange for initial consideration of up-front cash and Spherix common stock.[6] Rockstar will also receive a percentage of future profits from Spherix after recovery of patent monetization costs and an initial priority return on investment to Spherix.
In 2012, Business Insider listed Rockstar as number 3 on its list of the 8 most fearsome patent trolls in industry.[7] Wired magazine notes that some call them a "straight-up patent troll".[8]
In October 2013, Rockstar had initiated legal action against eight companies,[9] including Google, Huawei and Samsung,[10] as well as other makers of Android phones including Asustek, HTC, LG Electronics, Pantech, and ZTE.[11]
In December 2013, Google initiated legal action against Rockstar, with a countersuit filed in San Jose, California.[12]
In November 2014, it was reported that Rockstar and Google had come to a settlement.[13]
In December 2014, Rockstar agreed to sell 4000 of its patents to RPX Corporation, a defensive patent aggregator.[14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ McMillan, Robert (May 21, 2012). "How Apple and Microsoft Armed 4,000 Patent Warheads". Wired. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
- ^ "Rockstar Consortium Launches Patent Attacks". techweekeurope.co.uk. May 28, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-06-01.
- ^ Hill, Bert (April 18, 2012). "Transforming Nortel's patents into gold: Rockstar Consortium sets up shop in Kanata". Ottawa Citizen. p. D1. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ "Rockstar Consortium Receives Green Light From Department Of Justice" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-24.
- ^ "Star Man" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 2, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
- ^ "Spherix Closes Rockstar Patent Acquisition Transaction" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 6, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
- ^ "Tech's 8 Most Fearsome 'Patent Trolls'". Business Insider. 2012-11-25. Retrieved 2013-12-20.
- ^ McMillan, Robert (2012-05-21). "How Apple and Microsoft Armed 4,000 Patent Warheads". Wired. Retrieved 2013-12-20.
- ^ "New Patent cases involving Rockstar". Docket Alarm, Inc. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
- ^ Levine, Dan (October 31, 2013). "Google, Samsung, Huawei sued over Nortel patents". Reuters.
- ^ Mullin, Joe (November 1, 2013). "Patent war goes nuclear: Microsoft, Apple-owned "Rockstar" sues Google". Ars Technica.
- ^ Michelle Meyers (26 December 2013). "Google fights back against Rockstar patent group". CNET.
- ^ Jeff John Roberts (20 November 2014). "Apple-backed Rockstar ends patent war on Android, deal suggests". GigaOM. Archived from the original on 21 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ^ Ashby Jones (23 December 2014). "Rockstar Consortium to Sell 4,000 Patents to RPX Corp. for $900 Million". Wall Street Journal.
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