Nortel patent sale delayed one week

It appears some bidders (or potential bidders) object to the terms of sale established for the Nortel patent auction out of bankruptcy.  For example, Microsoft claims a “worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free license to all of Nortel’s patents” contracted for in 2006. They are asking the Delaware bankruptcy court to make sure that these agreements are binding on any new owner of the related IP.

One problem is that is NOT what Google bid on:  part of the auction terms is that the IP buyer would be given the right to terminate existing agreements. Though the auction was supposed to take place on June 20th, presumably this new objection to the terms prompted a postponement to June 27.

The LTE patents alone in Nortel’s group of 6,000 should attract the attention of all who want to be well-positioned in tomorrow’s wireless environment. Though Google has received the bulk of the publicity, Reuters reports Apple, Ericsson and RPX might participate.