Google Bids $900 Million for Nortel Patent Assets

The New York Times (Apr 4 2011)

1. Google has bid $900 million for the patent portfolio of Nortel Networks, the Canadian telecom equipment maker, as part of a strategy to defend itself against patent litigation. The bid, which could grow even larger in Nortel’s bankruptcy auction, would be the third-largest purchase by Google, smaller only than its payments for YouTube and DoubleClick. The amount of money involved signals how fierce the patent wars have become, particularly in Silicon Valley, where even the largest and most powerful companies like Google are besieged by dozens of patent infringement suits. It also underscores Google’s frustration with the state of the patent reform legislation in Congress. (Read Full Article)

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