NEW YORK, June 18 (UPI) -- Bankrupt Canadian telecommunications firm Nortel said an auction for its patent portfolio was attracting some technology heavyweights.
Intel Corp., Ericsson AB, Apple Inc., and Google are all in the running for the auction delayed until June 27 due to a "significant level of interest," Nortel said in a court filing.
The Wall Street Journal reported also in the mix is RPX Corp., a company that buys patents to protect other companies, rather than for its own use.
Nortel is sitting on about 6,000 patents with some that focus on its development of WiFi and others that cover LTE wireless technology, which is considered a fourth generation wireless innovation.
Mike Lazaridis, chief executive officer of Research In Motion Ltd., called the LTE patents a "national treasure."
But the auction is not for the faint of heart. The bidding starts at $900 million, which Google is offering as a "stalking horse" bid, the Journal said.
