Fire Alarm Companies

Apple, Microsoft, RIM and Sony bought part of the consortium, the patent portfolio of bankrupt telecommunications company Nortel Networks

Apple, Microsoft, Sony, and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion are part of a winning consortium of six companies that have bought a tranche of valuable patents from the bankrupt Nortel Networks patent portfolio for $ 4.5 billion (? 2.8) in a highly competitive auction, Google, and Intel was losing.

Early indications had suggested that Google may offer the highest bidder for the patents, the valuable stuff home for the expected conflict in communication - and especially smartphones - field.

The result could be Apple and Microsoft the upper hand in any future patents lines. Microsoft is already extracting payments from a number of companies that Google 's Android mobile operating system used on the basis that it patents it owns against. Oracle has claimed major court case against Google that violated a number of Android Java patents, claiming $ 6.1 billion in damages.

Google had won the tender for the patents, it would have been protected in a better position to Android by patent infringement claims.

Cross-licensing deals effectively a truce: Large patent portfolios are often in a way tit-for-tat to a company and its intellectual property claims to defend from rivals used. As a relatively young company, Google has relatively few patents, which it can use for such offers.

Storage company EMC and Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson was also part of the winning consortium, for which the result was announced on late Thursday night announced.

The sale includes more than 6,000 patents and patent applications spanning wireless, 4G wireless, data networking, optical, voice, Internet, semiconductors and other patents. The most valuable ones are based on wireless broadband technology in the emerging 4G standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) is used.

Google had the bidding at $ 900 million in April. Apple and Intel, then quickly the auction. The three companies are relative newcomers to the increasingly contentious wireless industry, see the booming demand for smart phones and tablets.

Apple has recently completed a cross-licensing deal with Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia for a long-running series of patent infringement litigation. The settlement is expected to cost the U.S. company several million dollars per quarter.

"The size and dollar value of this transaction is unprecedented, as was the great interest in the portfolio among the largest companies around the world," said George Riedel, chief strategy officer and president of the business units at Nortel.

RIM 's part of the purchase price is approximately $ 770 million, while Ericsson paid $ 340m, the companies said in separate statements. Apple and Microsoft have not said how much they paid or how the property will be distributed to the patents - although the most likely scenario is that if the patents will be licensed the company, the payments in proportion to their contributions to receive.

The sale is subject to grant the Canadian and U.S. court, which shall at a joint hearing on 11 Take place in July will be sought, said Nortel.

Earlier on Thursday obtained a court Nortel, to further extend the suspension of proceedings under the Companies 'Creditors Arrangement Act until 14 December.

The patents are the last major assets of Nortel Networks, a once vast Canadian technology companies, like the tech bubble burst and imploded filed for bankruptcy protection are sold in January 2009.

Nortel increased by $ 3.2 billion to creditors through the sale of business units since then.