Nortel Sells Patents for $4.5B

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zargos 12/5/2012 | 5:00:29 PM

re: Nortel Sells Patents for $4.5B

I found this blurb in Ciana report (http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ABEA-26H477/0x0xS950123-10-115852/936395/filing.pdf  )

"in connection with the MEN Acquisition, we obtained a non-exclusive license to use patents and other intellectual property controlled or exclusively owned by Nortel in connection with our manufacture, sale and support of a broad range of optical networking and Carrier Ethernet products and services and natural evolutions of such products and services. This license also provides us with an exclusive license to use a narrower set of patents and other intellectual property owned by Nortel in connection with Ciena’s manufacture, sale and support of optical networking and Carrier Ethernet products and services within a narrower field of use and subject to certain limitations. As part of this license, we granted Nortel a non-exclusive license to use the patents and other intellectual property (except trademarks) that we acquired as part of the MEN Business in connection with the manufacture and sale of products and services in the fields of Nortel’s other businesses (including those businesses sold and to be sold to other parties) and natural evolutions of such"

I read elsewhere that Ciena acquired 1100 Nortel patents.  The above seems to indicate that Ciena has the right to use Nortel's other patents.

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Anna Molony 12/5/2012 | 5:00:29 PM

re: Nortel Sells Patents for $4.5B

Details of all published patent applications are available through the relevant patent office, which means that details of all Nortel Networks patents and patent applications which have been published (i.e. excluding any filed less than 18 months ago) can be accessed by anyone.

You can carry out patent searches through the European Patent Office's espacenet online patent searching tool, at:

http://worldwide.espacenet.com...

Simply enter 'Nortel Networks' in the search box.

Link to results below:

http://worldwide.espacenet.com...

From the results you can link to copies of all of the patents/patent applications located in the search.

Dr Anna Molony

UK & European Patent Attorney

For and on behalf of Chapman Molony

 

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MMQoS 12/5/2012 | 5:00:28 PM

re: Nortel Sells Patents for $4.5B

Pretty enthused out here as we might now get some of our compensation from 2009 if we live that long.

I worked in the Nortel Santa Clara research lab for 8 years and I can tell you that while the amount seems large even to me, the company was very encouraging and helpful in having employees develop patentable concepts and we did, good ones in many different fields.  So to Jepovich's comment, don't judge Nortel's technical capabilities by only considering the (aged) product portfolio.  Most of my colleagues put the blame on management (pre Zman) and an INCOMPETENT BoD who milked the company for bonuses and cash bennies instead of using the extensive patent portfolio and cash in the bank to develop new products.  

I remember joining the company after the Bay Nets acquisition and a few of us went to Canada and said; invest now in a term which we (Geoff Thompson) invented, Carrier Ethernet.  We even co-founded the MEF to that end as well as proactive work in IEEE802, but the Canadians (not all but the execs) said "SONET forever" and why canabalize a profitable business for something that was unsure!  They even put the President of the Optical Networks div (read ATM) into the CTO spot who of course was not at all ready to "eat his own children" or probably risk his year end bonus.  So it was a classic case of lack of prioritization on new products at a time when the bank had the funds to support development even though the BoD had made some bad acquisitions.

Well the rest is history but don't underestimate the power of that patent portfolio.  Apple et all didn't.  I worked in the semiconductor industry in the '80's and '90's when Nortel had their own CMoS development early and they had some very innovative and now probably fundamental patents in that space.

LTE:  One of the last areas of development areas getting reasonalbly funded before bankruptcy and principally for Verizon Wireless where Nortel would have shared a piece of their biz.

I just was reading some of the questions about some of the previous sale and the accompanying patents.  Note in that most if not all cases, the patents were included either "for use" or "non-exclusive" which to me means that Nortel maintained ownership.  

mmQoS 

 

 

 

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