Rockstar sells 101 patents to Spherix

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Rockstar sells 101 patents to Spherix

The Rockstar Consortium, an organisation formed by companies including Microsoft and Apple to acquire the Nortel patents, has agreed to sell a portfolio of 101 patents to IP monetisation company Spherix.

The patents relate to access, switching, routing, optical and voice communication network devices. Spherix said in a statement yesterday that Rockstar is sharing usage information with Spherix and will help with efforts to commercialise the patents.

Anthony Hayes, CEO of Spherix, said the patents are "used daily by consumers and businesses" and "cover the way traffic, video and voice are carried over public and private networks."

"We believe this is a very valuable patent portfolio, containing both industry standard patents and patents found in product implementations of various Internet service and network device vendors throughout the world," said John Veschi, CEO of Rockstar.

This is the second time Spherix has bought intellectual property from Rockstar. In July last year, Rockstar sold seven patents relating to mobile communications to Spherix for an undisclosed sum, plus $60 million in stock and a percentage of projected profits.

The consortium, which also includes BlackBerry, Sony and Ericsson, acquired over 4,000 patents from Nortel for $4.5 billion in July 2011 after Nortel went into bankruptcy proceedings. The consortium outbid Google, which placed a final offer of $4.4 billion for the patents in the auction.

Rockstar was given clearance to purchase the Nortel patents by the Department of Justice on the condition that it licenses them on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

In October last year, Rockstar sued Google for infringing some of the Nortel patents.

In August last year, Spherix filed a complaint against cordless telephone manufacturer Vtech and a complaint against wireless communications company Uniden.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Attorneys explain why there are early signs that the US Supreme Court could rule in favour of ISP Cox in a copyright dispute
A swathe of UPC-related hires suggests firms are taking the forum seriously, as questions over the transitional stage begin
A win for Nintendo in China and King & Spalding hiring a prominent patent litigator were also among the top talking points
Rebecca Newman at Addleshaw Goddard, who live-reported on the seminal dispute, unpicks the trials and tribulations of the case and considers its impact
Attorneys predict how Lululemon’s trade dress and design patent suit against Costco could play out
Lawyers at Linklaters analyse some of the key UPC trends so far, and look ahead to life beyond the transition period
David Rodrigues, who previously worked at an IP boutique, said he may become more involved in transactional work at his new firm
Indian smartphone maker Lava must pay $2.3 million as a security deposit for past sales, as its dispute with Dolby over audio coding SEPs plays out
Powell Gilbert’s opening in Düsseldorf, complete with a new partner hire, continues this summer’s trend of UPC-related lateral movement
IP leaders at Brandsmiths and Bird & Bird, who were on opposing sides at the UK Supreme Court in Iconix v Dream Pairs, unpick the landmark case and its ramifications
Gift this article