Acacia Partners Add 4G Patents To Licensing Portfolio
A subsidiary of Acacia Research Corporation is the new owner of Adaptix Inc., a developer of 4G technologies for wireless systems. The purchase price was $160 million.
Acacia’s subsidiaries partner with inventors and patent owners, license the patents to corporate users and then share the revenue.
“Adaptix has been on the forefront of developing next-generation wireless communications for the past 11 years,” comments Acacia CEO Paul Ryan, “and Acacia’s acquisition provides our shareholders with a great opportunity to participate in the worldwide growth of 4G wireless technologies as Acacia continues to expand its patent licensing business.”
Adaptix, which has $10 million in cash, filed its first 4G patents as early as 2000. With its growing portfolio of 230 issued and pending patents in 13 countries, the company has addressed OFDMA and MIMO innovations.
In separate but related patent news, Sisvel International just acquired 47 patent families comprised of more than 450 patents and applications originally filed by Nokia.
The patents and patent applications cover technologies used in a wide range of mobile communications devices and services. Thirty-three of the patent families, consisting of more than 350 patents and applications, have been declared essential by Nokia to second, third and fourth-generation communications standards, including GSM, UMTS/WCDMA and LTE. The balance of the portfolio consists of implementation patents, including video-encoding-optimization technologies.
The acquired patents remain subject to certain prior agreements, and Nokia is licensed under the portfolio as part of the acquisition.
"Sisvel has been extremely active in recent years working with the wireless industry to provide simplified access to essential wireless patents on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) conditions," says Sisvel CEO Giustino de Sanctis. "Acquiring the many essential patents in this key portfolio is a very significant step for Sisvel, and a testament to Sisvel’s commitment and determination to succeed in this space. We look forward to offering these essential patents on FRAND terms and to continuing our work within the wireless industry."
