BlackBerry is selling a set of patents from the past covering mobile technology for $600 million the deal is likely to cause more legal trouble for smartphone manufacturers such as Apple in the near future.
It was announced on Monday that BlackBerry announced on Monday that it has signed an agreement on the sale of patents, which will see the former mobile company transferring its patent portfolio that is not core for Catapult Innovations 600 million dollars. The deal will give BlackBerry the cash equivalent of $450 million as well as promissory notes worth $150 million, and an option to return the patents.
Patents related to mobile devices messages, wireless network IPs. BlackBerry specifically states that the sale won’t be detrimental to customers using BlackBerry’s service or products.
Although the guarantee could be beneficial for consumers, the offer might not be as favorable to tech companies in the mobile market.
Catapult IP Innovations is described by BlackBerry as “a Delaware company” that is a “special purpose vehicle” that was created to acquire BlackBerry patent portfolio.” The company is financed by the $450 million senior secured loan that includes $400 million in “conditional commitments from a lending syndicate” which is managed by Third Eye Capital.
BlackBerry’s sale was to what’s known as a “Non-practicing company,” a company that does not earn revenue from sales of products or services but is more likely to achieve this by protecting assets. Some refer to these kinds of organizations in the term “patent Trolls.” Given the potential yield on investment, it’s likely that patents are used to facilitate the payment of royalties from device makers possibly through lawsuits.
Patents granted to Blackberry were used in the past to bring lawsuits against other companies before like legal actions that were filed in the month of March against Facebook in connection with Facebook Messenger.
Apple is also a victim of a patent lawsuit which is based on work by Research in Motion, BlackBerry’s previous name. In the year 2019, the non-practicing entity Fundamental Innovation Systems accused Apple of violating multiple payment protocols regarding USB charging and other communication technology. The sale of patents is contingent on approval by the regulatory authorities and could take as long as 220 days to be completed.
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