Apple-backed consortium reportedly planning to sell off patent portfolio

Rockstar, a consortium backed by Apple, Microsoft, Sony, and other tech giants, is planning to sell off most of its patent portfolio, according to Bloomberg. The group beat Google in a bidding war for these patents, which previously belonged to Nortel, but is now seeking to off-load them—or at least the ones that have served no purpose.

Rockstar does plan to hold on to a few of the key patents, specifically the ones involved in lawsuits against Google and other companies. Several of the patents have already been sold to Spherix Inc. as part of a deal that would include Rockstar sharing in any future financial profits based on the patents, according to the report. Sales of the remaining patents could result in similar arrangements.