Nortel Patent Sale To Consortium Approved

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Research in Motion Ltd., EMC Corp., L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co., and Sony Corp. will be able to share the Nortel's trove of Patents (intellectual property) in ways unknown to us.
The consortium pushed the bidding up at the bankruptcy auction to hold Google Inc., Intel Corp. and RPX Corp at bay.
Most see this as an attempt to kill Android by big boys, Apple and Microsoft.
"Why is the portfolio worth five times more to this group collectively than it is to Google? Why is the portfolio worth five times more to this group collectively than it is to Google? Why are three horizontal competitors being allowed to collaborate and cooperate and join hands together in this, rather than competing against each other?", asked Robert Skitol, an antitrust lawyer at the Drinker Biddle firm, in a discussion with Washington Post. The article concluded with the question if these patents were gathered for legal attack on competitor, rather than economic benefit!

Nortel Patents Goes To A Consortium, Google Dissapointed!

Nortel Patents Auction http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Looks like there is no end to patent news today and here is another. Last night, Nortel picked a winner for their 6000 patents, it is a consortium of players who stand to benefit from the patents not going to Google. Google was expecting to win the portfolio.
The consortium consists of Apple, RIM, Microsoft, Sony, and others, and they must really be happy to have spent %4.5 billion.
They will have to wait for the courts to clear the purchase and Apple and Microsoft in the mix will ensure a lengthy review.
Of course Google is disappointed and rightly so. Google initiated to bidding for Nortel patents early on and was met with objections from, most members of the consortium.

“This outcome is disappointing for anyone who believes that open innovation benefits users and promotes creativity and competition. We will keep working to reduce the current flood of patent litigation that hurts both innovators and consumers,” Kent Walker, Google’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel said in a statement.

Google Goes After About 6000 Nortel Patents To Protect Android And Chrome

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
In an attempt to ward of or have means to negotiate, Google has entered in to a "stalking horse asset sale agreement"with Nortel to buy nearly 6000 patents and patent applications spanning wireless, wireless 4G, data networking, optical, voice, internet, service provider, semiconductors and other patent portfolios. According to news sources, Google will uses these patents to protect itself, partners and Open Source Developers working on projects such as Chrome and Android.
Google announced that;

"But as things stand today, one of a company’s best defenses against this kind of litigation is (ironically) to have a formidable patent portfolio, as this helps maintain your freedom to develop new products and services. Google is a relatively young company, and although we have a growing number of patents, many of our competitors have larger portfolios given their longer histories." 

in a blog post today. (Link to the post at the end of article). I am for a better patent reform and to deter these in it for patent business.
Google was hit with as much as 38 patent lawsuits recently. Some even target developers for Android and Apple iOS System. Way to Go Google.!

Here is the relevent Nortel Press release;

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 4, 2011) - Nortel(1) Networks Corporation (OTCBB:NRTLQ) announced today that it, its principal operating subsidiary Nortel Networks Limited (NNL) and certain of its other subsidiaries, including Nortel Networks Inc. and Nortel Networks UK Limited (in administration), have entered into a stalking horse asset sale agreement with Google Inc. for the sale of all of Nortel's remaining patents and patent applications for a cash purchase price of US$900 million.
The agreement includes the planned sale of approximately 6,000 patents and patent applications spanning wireless, wireless 4G, data networking, optical, voice, internet, service provider, semiconductors and other patent portfolios. The extensive patent portfolio touches nearly every aspect of telecommunications and additional markets as well, including Internet search and social networking.
This agreement follows a confidential, multi-round bidding process involving several interested companies and consortia from around the world.
"This is an unprecedented opportunity to acquire one of the most extensive and compelling patent portfolios to ever come on the market", said George Riedel, Chief Strategy Officer and President of Business Units, Nortel. "We look forward to what we hope will be a robust auction, following the requisite court approvals, currently expected to be held in June 2011".
Details of Sale Process
Nortel will file the stalking horse asset sale agreement with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware along with a motion seeking the establishment of bidding procedures for an auction that allows other qualified bidders to submit higher or otherwise better offers, as required under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. A similar motion for the approval of the bidding procedures will be filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Following completion of the bidding process, final approval of the U.S. and Canadian courts will be required.
In addition to the processes and approvals outlined above, consummation of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of regulatory and other customary conditions.
As previously announced, Nortel does not expect that the Company's common shareholders or the NNL preferred shareholders will receive any value from the creditor protection proceedings and expects that the proceedings will result in the cancellation of these equity interests.

 Official Google Blog: Patents and innovation

Nortel Customers Get Direct Upgrade Path To OpenUC From eZuce.

#Nortel #PBXs Upgrade  To #OpenUC From #eZuce.http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
eZuce open communications enables Nortel (IP) PBX customers to upgrade existing Meridian-1 and CS 1000 systems to a software based next generation UC solution step-by-step.

eZuce the enterprise solution provider company by SIPfoundry founders, is offering an investment protection and upgrade path to Nortel customers left with PBXs with nothing much. eZuce will work with customers to to protect the original investments and step by step upgrade, one location at time if multiple locations are involved.
eZuce has established proven methods for OpenUC installation and integration with existing Nortel environments not only in theory but with real world examples like Cedarville University in Ohio.
Depending on the customer environment, a system upgrade to a new openUC solution is priced equal to or less than the cost of an upgrade of the existing system to the latest release. For enterprises the new system offers lower operating and support costs and provides a comprehensive and modern integrated collaboration user experience enabling the customer to leverage next generation UC technology.

Press Release eZuce.

eZuce Inc. now delivers the first open unified communications solution that empowers Nortel customers to upgrade their existing (IP) PBX systems step-by-step and one location at a time, preserving their original IT investment. eZuce has established best practices for openUC installations and integration within existing Nortel enterprise environments.  An example is  Cedarville University in Ohio, where eZuce completed phase 1 of a Nortel Meridian-1 Option 81c replacement project. .
Depending on the customer environment, a system upgrade to a new openUC solution is priced equal to or less than the cost of an upgrade of the existing system to the latest release. For enterprises the new system offers lower operating and support costs and provides a comprehensive and modern integrated collaboration user experience enabling the customer to leverage next generation UC technology.
As a software solution, openUC represents an open alternative to Microsoft Lync and brings enhanced features and technologies into the enterprise environment including HD voice, video, instant messaging, unified presence, conferencing, collaboration, unified messaging, and mobility. eZuce openUC can be deployed in a centralized data center, eliminating the old paradigm requiring one PBX per building, and can be delivered as Communications as a Service (CaaS). By converting to the eZuce openUC platform Nortel users have a forward migration path and strategy for embracing future communication technologies and maximizing their current investments.
eZuce openUC offers Nortel users the flexibility and options to expand their communication capabilities by:

• Offering single branch upgrades one at a time or  step-by-step without changing existing dial plans. 
• Eliminating bottlenecks and improving resiliency and performance by routing traffic directly from the ingress point to the feature server.
• Enabling SIP trunking as a cost-effective way to connect to the PSTN.
• Delivering single number reachability, find-me / follow-me, simultaneous ring, local dialing from smartphones and other fixed mobile convergence (FMC) features at no extra cost.
• Allowing remote workers to seamlessly get connected where ever they work.
• Adding enterprise class Instant Messaging, Presence, and Collaboration.

“With eZuce open communications our Nortel customers can now afford to easily upgrade their existing IP PBXs and leverage the advanced unified communication features their users have been requesting. We view eZuce as the forward migration path for many of our Nortel customers and this has led to several migration opportunities for our company�
Gary Scroggs, Managing Partner, Innovational IP Solutions LLC

eZuce Presents An Open Source Enterprise Level Unified Communications Solution

Open Source Enterprise UC Solution, OpenUC, From eZuce http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
eZuce, a company formed by the creators of SIPFoundry, Dr. Martin Steinmann and Jerry Stabile, announced a enterprise grade UC solution, last month. Since I was away from blogging for almost a month, I missed the opportunity to present them to my readers.
SIPFoundry was one of my favorite projects and in fact my first self developed SIP Client to use with such services like free SIP Accounts, came from the sipXphone, a part of the project, even before the SIPFoundry / Pingtel days.
The project changed hands a few times but lived on, the community continued to develop the sipX project and I am glad now it is becoming a mainstream product due to eZuce.
Just like the track record of SIPFoundry, the software that eZuce promotes and supports, also have a seven years of development track record.
The solution itself provides opportunity for for companies to replace legacy PBX's and eZuce is placing itself as an alternative or replacement for Microsoft UC. But eZuce supports all the Microsoft's communications products like Outlook and Microsoft Exchange server. They also have a unique position in the role as well. EZuce sales model is completely indirect. They will support for single tier resellers, OEMs, and  Managed Service Providers (MSPs). Partners and end customers working with eZuce benefit from a fully supported product. In current incarnation, eZuce allows partners to offer a fully supported solution with standard SLA to end users, including level 3 support escalations.
The channel partners will also be at ease because, the SIPFoundry products were used by the like of NORTEL and Avaya. SIPFoundry PBX Solution powers the Avaya Software Communication System (SCS). So this startup is well grounded from the start and I am sure will have a greater role in the Unified Communications arena.
eZuce via SIPFoundry

Avaya Gets Nortel Enterprise Solutions Business Assets

Nortel Bankruptcy
Nortel will sell its enterprise solutions business in Europe, Middle East and Africa to Avaya Inc. for $475 million. Nortel Filed for bankruptcy seeking protection from creditors and investors in January this year. As for international / multinational company Nortel, it still has assets all over the world, like Americas and Asia.
So Avaya has also set sights on those by reaching a "stalking horse" asset and share sale agreement with Avaya for its enterprise solutions business in North America, Latin America and Asia. The "stalking horse" will allow Avaya to make a bid for these assets before other interested parties. "These agreements include the planned sale of substantially all of the assets of the enterprise solutions business globally as well as the shares of Nortel Government Solutions Inc. and DiamondWare Ltd.," said Nortel in a statement. Nortel had filed for bankruptcy protection in January.
Marketwatch

Tags: Nortel, Avaya, stalking horse, enterprise solutions