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Patent enforcement companies speak at SF conference
,----[ Quote ]
| Earlier this month, MDB Capital Group--an
| IP-focused investment bank that promises to
| help investors understand "the hidden value
| of intellectual property assets and future
| technological leadership"--held what it
| billed as its first annual "Bright Lights"
| intellectual property conference, bringing
| together IP-centric speakers from a variety
| of small and medium-size companies.
|
| The Prior Art attended the opening panel,
| which included the heads of two of the
| largest, and most litigious, patent-holding
| companiesâErich Spangenberg and Paul Ryan,
| the CEO of Acacia Research Corp., the
| largest publicly traded patent-licensing
| company.
|
| The panel also included representatives
| from consultancy ipCapital Group and RPX
| Corp., which buys litigated patents in
| order to strike deals between NPEs and
| operating companies, as well as IP guru
| Marshall Phelps. (Phelps is something of a
| legend for building IBM's legendary $2
| billion patent-licensing operation; most
| recently, he helped Microsoft build up a
| patent-licensing operation before leaving
| the company last year.)
`----
http://thepriorart.typepad.com/the_prior_art/2010/05/patent-enforcement-companies-speak-at-sf-conference.html
Patents, Probes and Strength in Unity: Participate in Keeping Open Source Open
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| Recently significant capital has been
| invested in patent speculation and for the
| last eighteen months, Congress has been
| discussing patent reform. Hedge funds in
| need of generating quick returns in this
| challenging market are seeking investments
| in patent trolls.
`----
http://events.linuxfoundation.org/linuxcon2010/bergelt
Novell auction could be patent troll bonanza
,----[ Quote ]
| This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for
| the fact that Novell has a treasure trove
| of patents, with at least 450 patents
| related to networking, office productivity
| applications, identity management, and
| more.
|
| When I worked for Novell, we didn't worry
| too much about a lawsuit from Microsoft.
| After all, Novell had (and, I presume,
| still has) patents that directly impact
| Microsoft's Office business. I could see
| Microsoft lining up to buy out these
| patents from a private equity firm, but I
| could also see a non-practicing entity (aka
| "patent troll") buying them to extort money
| from Microsoft.
|
| Perhaps some would cheer, but they
| shouldn't.
|
| After all, Novell also has valuable Unix
| copyrights (sorry, SCO) which, in turn,
| affect Linux. Given Novell's history in the
| networking market, it almost certainly owns
| patents that also could have a big impact
| on defending Linux.
|
| Or attacking it. Depending on who gets
| those patents.
|
| This same intellectual property motivated
| Microsoft to pay Novell a $536 million
| settlement back in 2004. How much would
| Novell's intellectual property be worth to
| a patent troll?
|
| [...]
|
| Let's hope so. Novell long ago faded from
| many people's minds, but it has never been
| more relevant with its business and, by
| extension, its intellectual property,
| available for the highest bidder.
`----
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-20006248-16.html
No room for another 'other' OS choice
,----[ Quote ]
| The news that Novell has thrown in the
| towel and is seeking as immediate a trade
| buy as it can suggests that ultimately
| there can only be one Linux game in town â
| and it wears a rouge cap, shall we say.
`----
http://opsys.cbronline.com/news/no_room_for_another_other_os_choice_280510
Novell's sales down as it prepares to sell up
,----[ Quote ]
| The Wall Street Times newspaper reported
| earlier this month that Novell is in talks
| with as many as 20 potential acquirers,
| most of which are private equity firms. In
| March 2010, Novell rejected a bid from
| Elliott Associates, saying it undervalued
| the company.
`----
http://www.information-age.com/channels/business-applications/news/1257513/novells-sales-down-as-it-prepares-to-sell-up.thtml
Novell's Buyout Valuation Looks Promising - cbl
http://boston.citybizlist.com/yourcitybiznews/detail.aspx?id=79787
Novell struggles through Q2
,----[ Quote ]
| Novell has reported a $12m drop in net
| income for the second quarter of 2010 from
| the same period last year. Novell reported
| net revenue of $204m for the quarter,
| compared with net revenue of $216m for the
| second fiscal quarter of 2009.
`----
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2010/05/28/241388/Novell-struggles-through-Q2.htm
Novell publishes second quarter figures
http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Novell-publishes-second-quarter-figures-1010264.html
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