BlackBerry nets US$600 million for an undisclosed amount of its IP
BlackBerry is slated to sell valuable IP. (Source: BlackBerry)
BlackBerry has announced that it has agreed to sell its "legacy patents" to a group dedicated to acquiring intellectual property. The assets reportedly relate to areas for which the OEM was once best known, messaging and mobile devices included. However, it asserts that the ones it has retained will allow it to keep its core business going.
A new Reuters report has revealed that BlackBerry intends to sell what it calls "legacy patents" to the "special purpose vehicle" Catapult IP Innovations Inc - a company that, from the sound of it, has been founded for this express purpose. The deal is slated to result in the exchange of US$450 milion in cash, along with $150 million's worth of promissory notes, for the IP.
The assets in question apparently describe the BlackBerry technology that underpin (or underpinned, rather) messaging, mobile devices and wireless networks - some areas in which the OEM was once a global leader. Therefore, this new move might cast other reports of its plans to get back into them by licensing OnwardMobility to make a new 5G phone under its name.
Then agian, BlackBerry asserts that the patents it has sold will not disrupt its current or ongoing business. Then again, the body of IP has proven important or valuable enough for Catapult IP Innovations to pay a total of $600 million for it.
Deirdre O Donnell - Senior Tech Writer - 6948 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2018
I became a professional writer and editor shortly after graduation. My degrees are in biomedical sciences; however, they led to some experience in the biotech area, which convinced me of its potential to revolutionize our health, environment and lives in general. This developed into an all-consuming interest in more aspects of tech over time: I can never write enough on the latest electronics, gadgets and innovations. My other interests include imaging, astronomy, and streaming all the things. Oh, and coffee.