"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."
While most of us were getting ready for the Fourth of July weekend, Microsoft and Apple, unlikely co-conspirators, led a gang of six, also including RIM (the Blackberry people), EMC, Ericsson and Sony, in generating the winning bid (a mere $4.5 billion) for the Nortel patent portfolio, outbidding Google. The amount paid for the patent portfolio is record-setting, being greater than what was obtained from the sale of all other of Nortel’s assets. The outcome of the Nortel auction underscores the value of intellectual property and it is welcome news to entrepreneurs using intellectual property to lure investors. It should also be welcome news to those that are hoping for the generation of new jobs that usually comes from new enterprises.
Just about a month ago, some of us were trembling at the thought of the possibility that the Supreme Court, in a decision on Microsoft v. i4i, would send us back to pre-Federal Circuit days and reduce the standard of proof needed to invalidate a patent to more likely than not (or in technical jargon, preponderance of the evidence); however, in Microsoft v. i4i, the Supreme Court retained the higher standard of proof (clear and convincing evidence) needed to persuade a jury of patent invalidity. Read the rest of this entry »
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