US Cable Companies Sue The Rockstar Patent Consortium

For those unfamiliar with the Rockstar patent consortium, they are basically a group of tech companies that have joined forces to buy Nortel’s patents from a while ago. The companies that are part of the consortium include big names such as Apple, Microsoft, and Sony, just to name a few. Back in December, Google filed a complaint against the consortium, basically alleging that the consortium are a bunch of bullies who have come together to harass other tech companies, such as Google themselves, and it looks like Google is not alone in feeling that.

In yet another lawsuit filed against the consortium, it seems that this time several US cable companies have come together and decided that the consortium’s plans to break up into smaller shell companies is just not fair. Apparently the plan was for the consortium to divide themselves up into smaller shell companies, with each shell company holding a patent needed by the cable companies. From there it is presumed that the shell companies will approach the cable companies and ask them to license the patents in question or risk getting sued for obscene amounts of money.

It is unclear how the lawsuit will proceed and what the Rockstar consortium will do in response to the lawsuit, but for those interested in taking a look at the lawsuit in its entirety, click here for the details.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple
Tags: Legal, Rockstar