Apple Contributing $2.6 Billion Toward Nortel Patent Purchase

nortel logo1
Earlier this month, an Apple-led consortium beat out Google in an auction of thousands of patents from bankrupt Nortel, bidding $4.5 billion for the entire package of patents. As noted by @SammyWalrusIV (via Business Insider), Apple 10-Q quarterly report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that Apple's contribution to that effort totaled $2.6 billion.

On June 27, 2011, the Company, as part of a consortium, participated in the acquisition of Nortel's patent portfolio for an overall purchase price of $4.5 billion, of which the Company's contribution will be approximately $2.6 billion. This asset acquisition is subject to approval by various regulatory agencies.

Apple's partners in the deal included EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research in Motion, and Sony. Apple's $2.6 billion contribution represents 58% of the entire purchase price of the Nortel patent portfolio. The large number may add credence to the rumor to have paid $2 billion for "outright ownership" of Nortel's LTE (4G) patent technology.

And Apple may not be finished with its efforts to purchase intellectual property on the open market, as the company is said to be considering going up against Google again for a portfolio of 1,300 patents related to mobile phone technologies being offered by InterDigital.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 With Apple's Own 5G Modem 'Confirmed' to Launch in March

Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
airtag purple

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch Next Year With These New Features

Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development. Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag. Timing Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Magic Mouse Next to Keyboard

No, Apple CEO Tim Cook Didn't Say He Prefers Logitech's MX Master 3 Over the Magic Mouse

Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false. The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

Apple Releases iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 With Security Fixes

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
at t turbo indicator iphone 16 pro max v0 8hrh7w5f3w1e1

AT&T Turbo Indicator Showing Up in iPhone Status Bar for Subscribers

Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence. Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476 The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever

Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick. "We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote. If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
bug security vulnerability issue fix larry

Make Sure to Update: iOS 18.1.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 Fix Actively Exploited Vulnerabilities

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices. With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...

Top Rated Comments

PeterQVenkman Avatar
174 months ago
Begun, this patent war has.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
*LTD* Avatar
174 months ago
Apple basically bought everyone's drinks. Nice.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S.Jobs Avatar
174 months ago
they will make that back in law suits :)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GLS Avatar
174 months ago

So thank you, Apple, for doing your part to abuse the already broken system. We really appreciate it. Ugh.

So what was Apple's alternative? To allow Google to get the patents, and do their part to abuse the already broken system?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arcite Avatar
174 months ago
Kodak is also floating their patent portfolio. Sounds like a way to monetize them while retaining use of them and losing the unpredictable expense of litigating them. I wonder if Apple has enough money from THIS month's net to pay for them, cash. :D

BTW the more recent 10-Q is out which further details their self-financing and expansion efforts. Their entire new HQ project is covered by 1/8 of one fiscal quarter net income after taxes.

They pay over $2.5B per quarter in federal income taxes.

Rocketman

http://investor.apple.com/common/download/download.cfm?companyid=AAPL&fileid=484701&filekey=6542e771-f256-4829-8135-0b1d88c7c2b2&filename=AAPL%20Q3FY11%2010Q%2007.20.11.pdf

June 25, 2011 September 25, 2010
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities $ 76,156 $ 51,011
Accounts receivable, net $ 6,102 $ 5,510
Inventory $ 889 $ 1,051
Working capital $ 20,039 $ 20,956

Burn rate?
Cost of sales 16,649
figures in millions

Gotta love it how in 10 short years Apple has become the 10,000 ton Gorilla of the tech world. :eek: :D
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Popeye206 Avatar
174 months ago
Talked with a local high-tech patent lawyer the other night at a local event and he thinks what we're seeing is a shake out in the high-tech patents. His feeling is the method has become "implement someones IP" and then see if they try and protect it. Then hope in court you can dilute or dismiss their claims or obtain a reasonable cross license.

It does seem that protecting your IP and keeping others from implementing it is almost impossible these days. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)