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]
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
- Smartphone wars
References
- Robert McMillan. How Apple and Microsoft Armed 4,000 Patent Warheads Wired, May 21, 2012, retrieved November 1, 2013^
- Rockstar Consortium Launches Patent Attacks techweekeurope.co.uk, May 28, 2012^
- Bert Hill. Transforming Nortel's patents into gold: Rockstar Consortium sets up shop in Kanata Ottawa Citizen, April 18, 2012, retrieved May 30, 2012^
- Rockstar Consortium Receives Green Light From Department Of Justice^
- Star Man retrieved September 8, 2013^
- Spherix Closes Rockstar Patent Acquisition Transaction retrieved September 8, 2013^
- Tech's 8 Most Fearsome 'Patent Trolls' Business Insider, 2012-11-25, retrieved 2013-12-20^
- Robert McMillan. How Apple and Microsoft Armed 4,000 Patent Warheads Wired, 2012-05-21, retrieved 2013-12-20^
- New Patent cases involving Rockstar Docket Alarm, Inc., retrieved November 18, 2013^
- Dan Levine. Google, Samsung, Huawei sued over Nortel patents Reuters, October 31, 2013^
- Joe Mullin. Patent war goes nuclear: Microsoft, Apple-owned "Rockstar" sues Google Ars Technica, November 1, 2013^
- Michelle Meyers. Google fights back against Rockstar patent group CNET, 26 December 2013^
- Jeff John Roberts. Apple-backed Rockstar ends patent war on Android, deal suggests GigaOM, 20 November 2014, retrieved 22 November 2014^
- Ashby Jones. Rockstar Consortium to Sell 4,000 Patents to RPX Corp. for $900 Million Wall Street Journal, 23 December 2014^