IT House reported on February 1 that BlackBerry Ltd. said on Monday (local time) that it had reached an agreement to pay Catapult IP Innovations Inc. for $600 million. Sell legacy patents primarily related to mobile devices, messaging, and wireless networks.
The Waterloo, Ontario, Canada-based company said the deal does not include patents that are critical to its core business. BlackBerry will still be licensed for the patents sold, and customers' use of its products or services will not be affected in any way.
IT House has learned that the patents primarily relate to mobile devices, messaging, and wireless networks, and that the transaction does not affect the use of BlackBerry products, solutions, or services.
The company said the deal would need to meet all the regulatory conditions set out in the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act and the Canadian Investment Act, which could take up to 210 days.
According to the report, Delaware-based Catapult is a special company described as a "special purpose agency established specifically to acquire BlackBerry patent assets" and will use loans from a consortium led by Toronto-based Third Eye Capital, which includes a Canadian pension fund.
With an expected return on investment, these patents are likely to be used to encourage equipment manufacturers to pay royalties, possibly through litigation.
BlackBerry's patents have been used in the past to sue other companies, such as the March 2018 legal action against Facebook over Facebook Messenger.
![BlackBerry announced $600 million in patents for mobile devices, messaging and wireless networks[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)