[News] Google bids $900 million for Nortel patent portfolio"

Engadget reports: "Google and Nortel have agreed on the princely sum of $900 million to start off a "stalking horse" auction -- wherein outside parties are still free to outdo Google's bid -- for the acquisition of Nortel's rather vast patent portfolio. The sale comes as part of the latter company's bankruptcy selloff and involves some 6,000 patents and patent applications, which encompass both wired and wireless communications, semiconductors, data networking, voice, and the internet -- going so far as to even touch on web search and social networking."

Image from engadget

Google is doing this to strengthen "it's own intellectual property" and to "create a disincentive for others to sue ".

All information from: Engadget

Google's blog post regarding the subject matter