RPX Corporation Completes Purchase of Rockstar Patents
February 3, 2015
RPX Corporation (NASDAQ: RPXC) today announced that its subsidiary, RPX Clearinghouse LLC, has completed its purchase of the patent assets of Rockstar Consortium LLC following the expiration of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act waiting period. A syndicate of over 30 companies have received non-exclusive licenses to the Rockstar patents, and RPX Clearinghouse will make the patents available for license to all other interested companies under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. As a result of the closing, eight litigations against 16 companies will be dismissed, including cases against Cisco and Google.
“The completion of this transaction highlights the benefits of the RPX clearinghouse approach, where patent licensing is a transparent and equitable business transaction, and is no longer dominated by costly litigation,” said John A. Amster, Chief Executive and Co-founder of RPX. “Everyone involved exhibited leadership and commitment to come to a conclusion that successfully cleared the risk of the Rockstar portfolio and was constructive for companies spanning multiple industries,” he added.
As a result of the closing, RPX will recognize revenue of $11 million in Q1 representing the remainder of the fee for its role in the transaction. More details about the transaction will be provided when RPX reports its fourth quarter and year-end earnings on February 10, 2015.