With the little guys, like Microsoft, Nokia, and Hewlett-Packard, complaining about the auction and the potential for unfair monopolies in the mobile industry, the Justice Department still cleared Apple to bid on Nortel’s existing patents, rumored to be worth well over one billion dollars.
The auction will begin on Monday, after considerable delays due to a “significant level of interest” from potential suitors, including Google, who offered up $900 million for the patents in April.
Rumors leaked on June 17th that Apple, Intel, Google, and Ericsson were all cleared to bid by the Department of Justice, but it now seems to be official, as the FTC has confirmed the announcement.
Why the reason for concern? Most of the patents focus on LTE 4G, Wi-Fi, and other wireless technologies like WiMax, which is obviously of a lot of interest to those companies who were cleared to place bids during the auction. These patents could help secure a company’s future in the industry.
Article Via CNET and Electronista
