More news about the RPX IPO, as bidder identities continue to leak from the Nortel patent auction process. (Previous coverage of RPX IPO). RPX may be poised for a spending spree, as the Wall Street Journal has identified the patent aggregator as one of the bidders for the Nortel portfolio. WSJ describes RPX:
RPX is what is known as a “defensive-patent aggregator” that acquires patents so they cannot be invoked in lawsuits against its corporate members. RPX has 70 members, some of whom are believed to be contributing to its bid. Members include RIM, Taiwan-based HTC Corp. and Huawei. Other members include: Google, Samsung Electronics Co., Cisco Systems Inc., Nokia and Verizon Communications Inc.
The IP Finance blog is watching the Nortel situation closely (the finance guys are always looking for good reference points on the value of IP). Significantly, they’ve picked up on the essence of RPX’s membership drive:
No doubt having a ripe bag of telecoms patents will “encourage” a few more companies to sign up and help the IPO on its way.
Why’d you put encourage in quotes, boys?
More interesting commentary at:Latest on the Nortel bidding war.
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- Why Is RPX Going Public? Ask Willie Sutton (gametimeip.com)
- Patent Risk Advisory Firm RPX Files For An IPO (techcrunch.com)
