Rockstar Consortium Inc., originally named Rockstar Bidco,[1] is a consortium formed to negotiate licensing for patents acquired from the bankrupt multinational telecommunications and data networking equipment manufacturer Nortel.
[2][3] Members of the consortium are Apple Inc., BlackBerry, Ericsson, Microsoft, and Sony.
[5] Spherix Incorporated, a company founded by Gilbert Levin, has acquired four families of mobile communication patents from the Rockstar Consortium in exchange for initial consideration of up-front cash and Spherix common stock.
[8] In October 2013, Rockstar had initiated legal action against eight companies,[9] including Google, Huawei and Samsung,[10] as well as other makers of Android phones including Asustek, HTC, LG Electronics, Pantech, and ZTE.
[11] In December 2013, Google initiated legal action against Rockstar, with a countersuit filed in San Jose, California.