Tag archive: Nortel

Google's buyout of Motorola Mobility has cleared two major hurdles. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced late Monday afternoon that Google's bid to buy Motorola for $12.5 billion does not violate antitrust laws, and will be allowed to proceed. Earlier in the day, the European Union also approved the deal. In addition to the Google's bid for Motorola, the DoJ also approved Apple's request to buy a cache of Novell… Read More

There hasn’t been much good news to report about Research in Motion lately, and sadly that trend continues. RIM announced last quarter’s earnings, and they are at the bottom end of the projected range. The good news is that revenue for the quarter was $4.2 billion, with net income of $329 million. Jim Balsillie, co-CEO, said, “Overall unit shipments in the quarter were slightly below our forecast due to lower than expected demand for older… Read More

On Wednesday, Google came out strong against Microsoft, Apple, Oracle and other companies, arguing that they are waging “a hostile, organized campaign against Android” by purchasing a large number of “bogus patents,” which can then use in lawsuits against Google. Google Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer David Drummond explains their side of the story on the company blog: “They’re doing this by banding… Read More

Google has held preliminary discussions with InterDigital Inc., a Pennsylvania-based wireless patent firm, about a possible acquisition. The move by Google is seen as an attempt by the company to add some meat to their thin wireless patent portfolio. InterDigital owns about 8,800 patents that, according to the Wall Street Journal, focus mostly on wireless data transmission, in-call noise cancellation and handset technology. With Google's… Read More

The acquisition of Nortel went through last week, with a group of companies that includes Apple, RIM, Microsoft and others paying a total of $4.5 billion for more than 6,000 patents and patent applications covering wireless, 4G, data networking, Internet, voice, optical and semiconductor technologies. Some additional details have emerged from I, Cringely which, if accurate (no source is credited), breaks down exactly who gets what in the patent… Read More

The sell-off of bankrupt Canadian telecom giant Nortel is reaching its end stages, with a multi-day auction of over 6,000 patents and patent applications belonging to the company selling to a consortium including Apple, Microsoft, RIM, and others for some $4.5 billion in cash. The patents cover a wide range of wireless, 4G, data networking, Internet, voice, optical, and semiconductor technologies. “We are pleased at the outcome of the… Read More

Although it doesn't come as much of a surprise, telecommunications service developer Avaya has files to offer a $1 billion initial public offering, saying it primarily wants to use the money raised by the stock offering to pay down “certain long-term indebtedness.” The company has not announced when the common stock would be offered to the public, or announce a target share price. Some of that debt like stems from the… Read More

Nortel has announced that U.S. and Canadian courts have approved the sale of Nortel's complete patent portfolio to Google subsidiary Ranger, Inc., in an all-cash $900 million deal. Google announced its intention to bid on Nortel's patent portfolio last month, and while no serious challengers have stepped up for the Nortel patents, in approving Google's “stalking horse” bid the courts also set up bidding procedures… Read More

After admitting in a blog post that “the tech world has recently seen an explosion of patent litigation,” Google announced it would be bidding on bankrupt company Nortel’s patent portfolio. The Mountain View giant said its reasons were many-fold, among them the idea that it would keep industry competitors from suing Google. Nortel filed for bankruptcy back in 2009, exactly one day before it would be forced to repay the $107 million it owed in… Read More

Earlier this year, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) distributed the last unallocated blocks of IPv4 addresses, meaning, in some senses, the existing Internet had “run out of space.” Exhausting the pool of IPv4 addresses doesn't mean the end of the world, but it should serve as impetus for network operators and organizations to shift to the much-larger (and more complex) IPv6 technology.… Read More

Technology giant Nortel Networks has filed for bankruptcy in the United States and Canada, making it the first major technology company to seek protection during the current global economic downturn. “Nortel must be put on a sound financial footing once and for all,” said Nortel President and CEO Mike Zafirovski, in a statement. “These actions are imperative so that Nortel can build on its core strengths and… Read More

VoIP provider Vonage can't seem to catch a break in the intellectual property arena. Attempting to recover from drawn-out litigation battles with AT&T, Sprint, and (most tellingly) Verizon that have withered the company's market value, today Vonage found itself the target of a brand-new patent infringement lawsuit. This one comes from Canadian telecommunications equipment maker Nortel, which is accusing Vonage of violating… Read More