Viewpoint: Don't believe the patent sale hype
Mike McLean and Art Monk, UBM TechInsights
EETimes (8/12/2011 1:42 PM EDT)
The $4.5 billion Nortel patent sale has lead to a flurry of commentary about a bubble in patent valuation and the impact patents have on innovation and job creation. Much of this commentary has identified the Nortel transaction as part of a new trend of patent activity with companies starting to monetize their patent assets. If this is a new trend, it is one that has repeated itself whenever an existing market is disrupted by new entrants. In the 1980’s, Japanese companies began to dominate the DRAM industry and were met with patent enforcement efforts from Texas Instruments, IBM, Motorola, and other established DRAM providers. This then played out across the rest of the semiconductor industry with a cycle of patent skirmishes and acquisition thrusts leading to an arrangement of broad cross-licenses.
![]() |
E-mail This Article | ![]() |
![]() |
Printer-Friendly Page |
Related News
- CEO Interview: Sameer Wasson of MIPS -- "Have a Steady Hand, Don't be Distracted"
- CEO Interview: Charlie Janac of Arteris -- "Pick a Viable Path, Don't Give Up"
- We don't compete with our customers - TSMC
- Can We Believe The Hype About China's Domestic IC Production Plans?
- Nokia job cuts don't and won't impress anyone
Breaking News
- RISC-V International Promotes Andrea Gallo to CEO
- See the 2025 Best Edge AI Processor IP at the Embedded Vision Summit
- Andes Technology Showcases RISC-V AI Leadership at RISC-V Summit Europe 2025
- RISC-V Royalty-Driven Revenue to Exceed License Revenue by 2027
- Keysom Unveils Keysom Core Explorer V1.0
Most Popular
- RISC-V International Promotes Andrea Gallo to CEO
- See the 2025 Best Edge AI Processor IP at the Embedded Vision Summit
- Andes Technology Showcases RISC-V AI Leadership at RISC-V Summit Europe 2025
- Ceva, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2025 Financial Results
- Cadence Unveils Millennium M2000 Supercomputer with NVIDIA Blackwell Systems to Transform AI-Driven Silicon, Systems and Drug Design