BlackBerry Sells Mobile Patents Worth $600 Million

Last Updated on February 4, 2022 by Anu Joy

BlackBerry has announced that it will sell patents worth $600 million, after Huawei acquired 90 of its patents last year. The patents under this deal will be related to mobile devices, messaging, and wireless networking.

Blackberry will sell patents worth $600 million to Catapult IP Innovations, which was formed specifically to hold the BlackBerry patents. As a part of the deal, BlackBerry will retain a license to use the patents. The deal is split as $450 million in cash and the remaining $150 million as a promissory note.

Also Read: BlackBerry Has Pulled The Plug On Its BlackBerry OS Devices

Pioneer in Wireless Messaging

BlackBerry has contributed major innovations as an early pioneer in wireless messaging. The company holds valuable patents, and the portfolio was estimated to be worth $2-3 billion at some point in the past. Blackberry has had a record of using its BBM patents to prove its worth by suing Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp back in 2018.

While the deal will not affect customers using the services in any way, the company says that some BlackBerry employees will move to Catapult as a result of this development. Furthermore, the federal government of Canada will go over the details of the deal to “ensure they are likely to have a net benefit to the Canadian economy, and do not pose a risk to our national security” before the sale finally takes place.

Toronto-based Third Eye Capital helped Catapult secure a major chunk of its funding, hence Canada retains some control over the patents. The deal is expected to take up to seven months to close.

Onward Mobility is trying to relaunch the BlackBerry brand with 5G phones. Now, without the assistance of BlackBerry, there is no clarity on how this deal affects the relaunch plans.

In any case, if a BlackBerry 5G phone launches in 2022, would you be interested in buying it? Let us know in the comments section below.