The patent lawsuits grab the headlines, but behind the scenes many companies are making less aggressive moves to bolster their holdings or monetize the IPR they already have. Nokia, counter to the main trend among handset makers, has sold various tranches of its massive patent portfolio in recent months, to Mosaid and now to licensing firm Sisvel International. Meanwhile, Acacia Research is buying Adaptix for $160m for its mobile IPR.
Sisvel has acquired 47 IPR families containing over 450 individual patents and applications originally filed by Nokia, for an undisclosed sum. It reported that 33 of the families have been declared essential to various mobile standards by Nokia, while the others are mainly "implementation patents including video encoding optimization technologies". Nokia remains a licensee under the deal.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Acacia Research is buying Adaptix, a former WiMAX player which has 230 issued and pending patents related to 4G, from its current owner, private equity firm Baker Capital. Acacia has, in the past, mainly partnered with technology owners rather than buying them, acting as a single point to license many patents. However, as wireless IPR increases in value but also becomes more litigious, it may be seeking more direct control and revenues.
(Source: Rethink Wireless)
