Google agrees to settlement in Rockstar patent infringement case
Rockstar Consortium is a patent holding group backed by Apple, Microsoft, BlackBerry, Sony and Ericsson. The group purchased Nortel's patent portfolio, and then filed an infringement lawsuit against Google over claims the search technology it uses in Android OS is covered by the patents it holds.
The filing says the deal will settle “all matters in controversy between the companies,” according to Reuters. The deal was presented as a term sheet that will become an official agreement in December.
The patents in question went up for sale when Nortel shut down. Google and Rockstar wanted the patents, but the Internet search giant's US$4.4 billion wasn't enough to win the bidding war.
Assuming Rockstar wraps up all of the lawsuits it filed against companies over infringement claims, that could open the door for a patent sale. A report surfaced late last year claiming Rockstar has been considering selling off part of its patent portfolio, or letting more companies into the consortium to “dilute investing investors” without selling off patents. There isn't, however, any hard evidence to say a patent selloff is in the works.
For now, we only know that Google has agreed to a deal that will keep Rockstar's patent infringement lawsuit from moving forward. We'll likely know more once the terms of the settlement are finalized in December, although it's a pretty safe bet both sides will want to keep at least some of the details sealed.