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BlackBerry�s patents are a gold mine - if they ditch handsets (RTGAM)
SEAN SILCOFF
OTTAWA � A huge patent sale involving BlackBerry Ltd. raises several questions about the value of its intellectual property stash. The answers might not be what investors would expect.
Three years ago, a consortium including BlackBerry Ltd., Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. bought a portfolio of 6,000 Nortel Networks patents for $4.5-billion (U.S.). On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported the group, Rockstar Consortium Inc., sold 4,000 of the patents to holding company RPX Corp. for $900-million.
Does that mean the value of patents has collapsed since 2011? Rockstar paid an average of $750,000 per patent in 2011; it is now getting $225,000. Indeed, does that mean the value of BlackBerry�s entire patent portfolio is worth far less than the $1-billion to $3-billion analysts estimate?
The answers aren�t as dire as they may appear on the surface. Desmond Lau, an analyst with Veritas Investment Research, says that even if BlackBerry�s 44,000 patents were worth less than half the value of the Rockstar deal � say $100,000 a patent � �You�d still have $4.4-billion of value,� well above most estimates.
�That indicates the market is not assigning a very high value� to BlackBerry�s patent portfolio, Mr. Lau said.
Plus, Rockstar�s owners, including BlackBerry, stripped out 2,000 of the 6,000 patents for themselves early on, former chief executive Jim Balsillie said in an e-mail.
�All the best 4G and smartphone patents were picked off,� Mr. Balsillie said.
In other words, it�s hard to do an apples-to-apples comparison between the per-patent value of the 2011 and 2014 deals since the shiniest apples in the previous deal aren�t part of Tuesday�s transaction. �I don�t think this is a sign the smartphone patent wars are cooling off� as the Journal claims, Mr. Balsillie said.
If anything, the estimated $155-million BlackBerry will get in Tuesday�s Rockstar deal points to substantial unlocked value in the Waterloo, Ont. company�s patent trove. BlackBerry recently formed a division aimed at generating �new revenue streams� from its patents and other technology assets. That�s code for �suing and licensing� other tech companies to squeeze dollars out of them for using BlackBerry�s intellectual property. BlackBerry isn�t overlitigious now, and there is a reason for this. Smartphone makers are in a cold war of sorts, each sitting on a cache of warheads in the form of patents; those mounds of patents mostly keep them in a d�tente, rather than suing each other all the time (though smartphone makers are plenty litigious).
But say BlackBerry decided to stop making smartphones. It would no longer be bound by the quid pro quo among handset makers. Rather than sitting defensively on its warheads to protect a marginal business that commands a sub-1-per-cent market share, it could instead become assertive in demanding licence fees from others. Rather than paying dozens of millions of dollars per quarter to the likes of Motorola, Nokia and Qualcomm as it now does, BlackBerry could instead haul in big royalties from licensing its technology while continuing to build its software and services business. It�s not impossible to imagine BlackBerry pulling in $400-million or more a year by playing the licensing game, as one intellectual property expert estimates.
Perhaps it would be best for BlackBerry to abandon the keyboard in favour of the cash register; its patent portfolio could be worth much more if it stopped making smartphones than if it continued, as has been the case for other over-the-hill tech companies. BlackBerry �still has complex [intellectual property] decisions to make that depend on what strategies the company ultimately chooses for its hardware business,� Mr. Balsillie said.
Posted using my Z10 or BlackBerry passport.12-24-14 08:14 AMLike 12 - "Desmond Lau, an analyst with Veritas Investment Research, says that even if BlackBerry’s 44,000 patents were worth less than half the value of the Rockstar deal – say $100,000 a patent – “You’d still have $4.4-billion of value,” well above most estimates.
“That indicates the market is not assigning a very high value” to BlackBerry’s patent portfolio, Mr. Lau said."
"If anything, the estimated $155-million BlackBerry will get in Tuesday’s Rockstar deal points to substantial unlocked value in the Waterloo, Ont. company’s patent trove. BlackBerry recently formed a division aimed at generating “new revenue streams” from its patents and other technology assets. That’s code for “suing and licensing” other tech companies to squeeze dollars out of them for using BlackBerry’s intellectual property."12-24-14 08:23 AMLike 7 - Readings material.
BlackBerry�s patents are a gold mine - if they ditch handsets (RTGAM)
SEAN SILCOFF
OTTAWA � A huge patent sale involving BlackBerry Ltd. raises several questions about the value of its intellectual property stash. The answers might not be what investors would expect.
Three years ago, a consortium including BlackBerry Ltd., Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. bought a portfolio of 6,000 Nortel Networks patents for $4.5-billion (U.S.). On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported the group, Rockstar Consortium Inc., sold 4,000 of the patents to holding company RPX Corp. for $900-million.
Does that mean the value of patents has collapsed since 2011? Rockstar paid an average of $750,000 per patent in 2011; it is now getting $225,000. Indeed, does that mean the value of BlackBerry�s entire patent portfolio is worth far less than the $1-billion to $3-billion analysts estimate?
The answers aren�t as dire as they may appear on the surface. Desmond Lau, an analyst with Veritas Investment Research, says that even if BlackBerry�s 44,000 patents were worth less than half the value of the Rockstar deal � say $100,000 a patent � �You�d still have $4.4-billion of value,� well above most estimates.
�That indicates the market is not assigning a very high value� to BlackBerry�s patent portfolio, Mr. Lau said.
Plus, Rockstar�s owners, including BlackBerry, stripped out 2,000 of the 6,000 patents for themselves early on, former chief executive Jim Balsillie said in an e-mail.
�All the best 4G and smartphone patents were picked off,� Mr. Balsillie said.
In other words, it�s hard to do an apples-to-apples comparison between the per-patent value of the 2011 and 2014 deals since the shiniest apples in the previous deal aren�t part of Tuesday�s transaction. �I don�t think this is a sign the smartphone patent wars are cooling off� as the Journal claims, Mr. Balsillie said.
If anything, the estimated $155-million BlackBerry will get in Tuesday�s Rockstar deal points to substantial unlocked value in the Waterloo, Ont. company�s patent trove. BlackBerry recently formed a division aimed at generating �new revenue streams� from its patents and other technology assets. That�s code for �suing and licensing� other tech companies to squeeze dollars out of them for using BlackBerry�s intellectual property. BlackBerry isn�t overlitigious now, and there is a reason for this. Smartphone makers are in a cold war of sorts, each sitting on a cache of warheads in the form of patents; those mounds of patents mostly keep them in a d�tente, rather than suing each other all the time (though smartphone makers are plenty litigious).
But say BlackBerry decided to stop making smartphones. It would no longer be bound by the quid pro quo among handset makers. Rather than sitting defensively on its warheads to protect a marginal business that commands a sub-1-per-cent market share, it could instead become assertive in demanding licence fees from others. Rather than paying dozens of millions of dollars per quarter to the likes of Motorola, Nokia and Qualcomm as it now does, BlackBerry could instead haul in big royalties from licensing its technology while continuing to build its software and services business. It�s not impossible to imagine BlackBerry pulling in $400-million or more a year by playing the licensing game, as one intellectual property expert estimates.
Perhaps it would be best for BlackBerry to abandon the keyboard in favour of the cash register; its patent portfolio could be worth much more if it stopped making smartphones than if it continued, as has been the case for other over-the-hill tech companies. BlackBerry �still has complex [intellectual property] decisions to make that depend on what strategies the company ultimately chooses for its hardware business,� Mr. Balsillie said.
Posted using my Z10 or BlackBerry passport.
ZZ TOP10 Catch and release !!12-24-14 08:33 AMLike 0 - I heard one of them is trying to buy a Hockey Team while the other is doing some really neat stuff in Waterloo.12-24-14 08:44 AMLike 2
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Posted using my Z10 or BlackBerry passport.Last edited by bbjdog; 12-24-14 at 10:02 AM.
12-24-14 08:49 AMLike 3 -
- I don't know if these were ever posted to this thread previously. I came across these (in my opinion) very well written and objective pieces from this firm called Blue Hill Research. They certainly make very interesting reading. I've listed the posts in reverse chronological order.
BlackBerry Embraces Its Destiny with BES12 | Blue Hill Research (this one is a free pdf download)
A Sure-Footed BlackBerry Treads on Still Shaky Ground | Blue Hill Research
BlackBerry?s Movirtu Buy Adds Hugely Interesting Virtual SIM Capabilities to its Mobile Portfolio | Blue Hill Research
BlackBerry?s Newly Created BlackBerry Technology Solutions Business Unit ? A Very Bright Idea | Blue Hill Research
The Top 3 Reasons BlackBerry?s Acquisition of Secusmart is a Very Smart Move | Blue Hill Research
There?s a BlackBerry A-Rising on Much Improved Financials | Blue Hill Research
There's also some other very interesting posts in there which may be relevant to BBRY such as about the Apple-IBM deal. On that note, Merry Christmas everybody and Happy Festive Season. It's been a very interesting 2014 and I've enjoyed the ride with all of you. Looking forward to 2015 can't wait to see what unfolds.12-24-14 10:30 AMLike 11 - Here?s How You Can Defeat SS7-based Surveillance of Phone Calls and Texts | Inside BlackBerry
The other is a software solution called SecuCALL that is offered via carriers such as Vodafone Germany to enterprise customers. Look for us to extend the latter solution more widely next year.12-24-14 10:52 AMLike 7 - Remember American won't consider a Canadian CEO. That’s why those who love Canada feel sad, when some of us rundown hard working Companies like BlackBerry. What JC had achieved, if it's an American company, he will be celebrated. So, let's cheer up JC and leave American to their choice.
Posted via CB10
Thank you12-24-14 10:54 AMLike 10 - Best wishes everyone, bulls and bears, for a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, et al Secular and religious celebrations near Christmas time12-24-14 01:44 PMLike 4
- the bears
#BBFactCheckLast edited by BigBadWulf; 12-24-14 at 04:06 PM. Reason: language people, LANGUAGE!
12-24-14 03:17 PMLike 5 -
- Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone. Hoping the new year brings all health wealth and happiness.
Ps...Taken and edited on my Z30
Posted via crackberry10 on my new Z30!12-24-14 06:57 PMLike 10 -
- On heels of poor quarter, Blackberry’s Chen demotes head of sales
On heels of poor quarter, Blackberry’s Chen demotes head of sales
On the heels of poorer-than-expected third quarter results, BlackBerry Ltd. chief John Chen has demoted the company’s head of sales, part of a broader set of management changes at the beleaguered smartphone maker.
BlackBerry confirmed in an e-mail Wednesday that Eric Johnson, formerly president of global sales for BlackBerry, has been replaced by the company’s president of enterprise, John Sims. Mr. Johnson, hired 11 months ago, “will focus on driving enterprise sales, deepening our relationships with enterprise customers and ensuring” the company’s server software and portfolio of services “are meeting expectations” in a new role, a company spokesman said in an e-mail.
The move is a blow for Mr. Chen, who overhauled the management at BlackBerry after joining 13 months ago, bringing in many former colleagues from his time running California database software firm Sybase and working as a senior executive at successor SAP. Mr. Johnson spent 10 years at Sybase and SAP, working most recently as senior vice-president of SAP’s global database and technology group. Like many senior executives who have joined under Mr. Chen, his background is more concentrated on software and services – Mr. Chen’s focus going forward – rather than selling smartphones.
Mr. Chen last week expressed frustration that analysts were expecting a quicker turnaround than he himself had promised when he said he needed two years to get BlackBerry back on track. But he also admitted earlier this month the company has had difficulty getting much support from carriers, which were a key part of the company’s success before it ceded its lead as the world’s leading smartphone platform four years ago. The company is attempting to rebuild its sales force by focusing on direct sales to customers, and recently hired Howard Stevens, another former senior SAP exec in its telecom group, to head sales efforts to wireless carriers.
BlackBerry also confirmed new roles for two other executives: enterprise engineering team leader Billy Ho, who has now added enterprise product management to his duties, while Herman Li, previously the senior vice-president for software with Blackberry Messenger, the company's instant messaging service, will now lead BBM engineering and product management. The management changes, which were only announced internally to company employees this month, will take effect by the end of the month.
BlackBerry last week reported less than $800-million (U.S.) in revenue in the third quarter, more than $100-million lower than most analyst estimates. Mr. Chen warned revenue, which has continued to fall lower than market expectations, will likely drop for at least one more quarter before his multiple efforts to recharge the company with new services and software offerings kick in and start reversing its fortunes. The company is also hoping for a strong showing by its newly launched Passport and Classic smartphones.12-24-14 07:14 PMLike 9 - On heels of poor quarter, Blackberry�s Chen demotes head of sales
On heels of poor quarter, Blackberry�s Chen demotes head of sales
On the heels of poorer-than-expected third quarter results, BlackBerry Ltd. chief John Chen has demoted the company�s head of sales, part of a broader set of management changes at the beleaguered smartphone maker.
BlackBerry confirmed in an e-mail Wednesday that Eric Johnson, formerly president of global sales for BlackBerry, has been replaced by the company�s president of enterprise, John Sims. Mr. Johnson, hired 11 months ago, �will focus on driving enterprise sales, deepening our relationships with enterprise customers and ensuring� the company�s server software and portfolio of services �are meeting expectations� in a new role, a company spokesman said in an e-mail.
The move is a blow for Mr. Chen, who overhauled the management at BlackBerry after joining 13 months ago, bringing in many former colleagues from his time running California database software firm Sybase and working as a senior executive at successor SAP. Mr. Johnson spent 10 years at Sybase and SAP, working most recently as senior vice-president of SAP�s global database and technology group. Like many senior executives who have joined under Mr. Chen, his background is more concentrated on software and services � Mr. Chen�s focus going forward � rather than selling smartphones.
Mr. Chen last week expressed frustration that analysts were expecting a quicker turnaround than he himself had promised when he said he needed two years to get BlackBerry back on track. But he also admitted earlier this month the company has had difficulty getting much support from carriers, which were a key part of the company�s success before it ceded its lead as the world�s leading smartphone platform four years ago. The company is attempting to rebuild its sales force by focusing on direct sales to customers, and recently hired Howard Stevens, another former senior SAP exec in its telecom group, to head sales efforts to wireless carriers.
BlackBerry also confirmed new roles for two other executives: enterprise engineering team leader Billy Ho, who has now added enterprise product management to his duties, while Herman Li, previously the senior vice-president for software with Blackberry Messenger, the company's instant messaging service, will now lead BBM engineering and product management. The management changes, which were only announced internally to company employees this month, will take effect by the end of the month.
BlackBerry last week reported less than $800-million (U.S.) in revenue in the third quarter, more than $100-million lower than most analyst estimates. Mr. Chen warned revenue, which has continued to fall lower than market expectations, will likely drop for at least one more quarter before his multiple efforts to recharge the company with new services and software offerings kick in and start reversing its fortunes. The company is also hoping for a strong showing by its newly launched Passport and Classic smartphones.
Passport'n stuff all day long.bungaboy and theRock1975 like this.12-24-14 07:15 PMLike 2 - 12-24-14 07:16 PMLike 11
- On heels of poor quarter, Blackberry�s Chen demotes head of sales
The move is a blow for Mr. Chen, who overhauled the management at BlackBerry after joining 13 months ago, bringing in many former colleagues from his time running California database software firm Sybase and working as a senior executive at successor SAP. Mr. Johnson spent 10 years at Sybase and SAP, working most recently as senior vice-president of SAP�s global database and technology group. Like many senior executives who have joined under Mr. Chen, his background is more concentrated on software and services � Mr. Chen�s focus going forward � rather than selling smartphones.
It'd be a blow if Chen had brought in Eric Johnson and then someone other than Chen (maybe the board) had decided to fire Johnson despite Chen's decision. But here, Chen is the one making decision. So, how the hell is it a blow to Mr. Chen?!!!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone!12-24-14 07:25 PMLike 7 - How is this blow to Mr. Chen if Mr. Chen is the one demoting Eric Johnson?
It'd be a blow if Chen had brought in Eric Johnson and then someone other than Chen (maybe the board) had decided to fire Johnson despite Chen's decision. But here, Chen is the one making decision. So, how the hell is it a blow to Mr. Chen?!!!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone!
A blow, as in failure.
Perhaps Sims is just a better fit for the position overall and Johnson was struggling out of his element.
I'm just speculating.
Posted via CB10Highlander01 likes this.12-24-14 07:37 PMLike 1 - Anyone else feel the need to cast dispersions on another man's country, or can we get back to stocks and stockings?12-24-14 09:31 PMLike 5
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