Nortel patent sale approved

WebProNews reports.

The collection consists of more than 4 000 Internet, communication and various other networking patents.

It sold for $4.5 billion to Rockstar Consortium, a conglomerate of technology giants including Apple, Microsoft, RIM, Ericsson and Sony. The $4.5 million was a bargain, as the portfolio took tens of billions to develop.

The deal was put on hold following a Department of Justice investigation into the effects of the sale, CNET writes.

"We are pleased to emerge from this review process, and are looking forward to working with technology-related companies to provide them with access to Rockstar's technology," John Veschi, Rockstar's CEO and former chief intellectual property officer of Nortel, said in a statement.

Veschi did not waste much time before talking about licensing Nortel's patents, and while that in itself shouldn't be a problem, it all depends on just how much cash the consortium wants from its rivals, The Inquirer says.

If Google and its partners think the terms are unfair, then legal fireworks will begin.