AOL sells Microsoft 800+ patents for over $1bn

AOL has confirmed that it is selling Microsoft a bundle of over 800 pieces of its patent portfolio for $1.056bn, and will be licensing its remaining intellectual property to Redmond and others. "The agreement with Microsoft represents the culmination of a robust auction process for our patent portfolio," said AOL CEO Tim …

[Anonymous Coward]

Free CD's!

Microsoft unleashes billions of CDs with 500 free minutes of Windows 8, after which you have to buy it or reformat just to get it off your system.

[Anonymous C0ward]

Re: Free CD's!

Or can you just sign up again with the code from another free CD next week?

[Anonymous Coward]

What will happen

I wonder if this sale will be used to make Microsoft products better,,,. or just round 2 of patent wars.

[Anonymous Coward]

GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

A COMPANY CAN MAKE A LOT OF MONEY SIMPLY BY OWNING PATENTS I THINK STEVE BLAMMER AND I THINK A LOT ALIKE

[Jeebus]

Re: GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

Can't tell if troll, or both troll and thick fuck.

[samlebon23]

Re: GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

He's sarcastic.

[Mister Cheese]

Re: GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

> GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

>

> A COMPANY CAN MAKE A LOT OF MONEY SIMPLY BY OWNING PATENTS I THINK

> STEVE BLAMMER AND I THINK A LOT ALIKE

ME TOO

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

> Re: GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

> > GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

> >

> > A COMPANY CAN MAKE A LOT OF MONEY SIMPLY BY OWNING PATENTS I THINK

> > STEVE BLAMMER AND I THINK A LOT ALIKE

> ME TOO

ME TOO

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

> Re: GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

> > Re: GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

> > > GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

> > >

> > > A COMPANY CAN MAKE A LOT OF MONEY SIMPLY BY OWNING PATENTS I THINK

> > > STEVE BLAMMER AND I THINK A LOT ALIKE

> > ME TOO

> ME TOO

ME TO

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

> Re: GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

> > Re: GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

> > > Re: GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

> > > > GOOD WORK MICROSOFT

> > > >

> > > > A COMPANY CAN MAKE A LOT OF MONEY SIMPLY BY OWNING PATENTS I THINK

> > > > STEVE BLAMMER AND I THINK A LOT ALIKE

> > > ME TOO

> > ME TOO

> ME TO

ME TOO

[samlebon23]

After the Internet Bubble, welcome to the IP Bubble!

[Euripides Pants]

Re: IP Bubble

You pee *bubbles*?!

I think you should get to an emergency room as soon as possible.

[I think so I am?]

Re: IP Bubble

Moon-lighting as an adult party entertainer, Bubble the Horny Clown

[Steve Davies 3]

US Lawyer Alert

"Gentlemen, Rev up your bank accounts."

This is getting Patently Insane.

[Kurgan]

IP Bubble?

I really HOPE that there will be an IP bubble, with patent trolls paying millions for patents and then going bakrupt in the most gruesome way.

[Destroy All Monsters]

Re: IP Bubble?

Unfortunately, this means, given the fact that banks will have stashed their bailout money into exactly such a bubble [the bailout money now holding up your ever-decreasing-in-real-terms pension payout against total annihilation] BIG BOOM SOUNDS SOON. Then further destruction and wailing, followed by cries for more bailouts, socialization of unsustainable debt through TARP 2020, praising of Keynes [and a flood of books praising the genius of Keynes], praising of Marx, Stalin or Roosevelt and loud demand for "government job programs" (which will probably consist in recycling burnable materials and copper from deserted, dead towns). As well as appearances of Michael Moore. Oh God.

I can't wait.

[Anonymous C0ward]

Re: IP Bubble?

Anyone want to buy some Dutch cann^H^H^H^Htulip bulbs?

[asdf]

congrats I guess

There is a lot to be said for management realizing value by selling off assets and winding down a company with no future prospects instead of just collecting fat paychecks and bsing about exciting phantom opportunities in the future (ala Imation).

[b166er]

Well, just so long as the crazy patent malarkey involves Google and Microsoft having equal share, then it should keep both at bay.

How long before we see Microsoft and Google joining forces I wonder? Microogle? Gosoft?

Bound to happen eventually and it'll be interesting to see what develops that causes that alliance.

Maybe Facebook and Apple will join forces.

Who would be fighting the good fight then?

[LateNightLarry]

How long?...

Microgoo? Goosoft?

Paris because she's better than a glass of wine...

[HollyHopDrive]

whatever happened to.....

....new innovations. companies doing well because people wanted their stuff because it was good. other people copied then more new innovation came out to stay one step ahead. these days its justed turned into my patent blah blah.

it just sucks now. it really needs to come to an end.

btw, not using capital letters in postings is my invention/ip/.... keep away..... ;)

[Schultz]

Re: whatever happened to innovations.....

Well, there was apple before they went trolling.

[BeachBoy]

I know everyone loves to hate micro$oft and correct me if i´m wrong, but in the current Patent wars our redmond friends have never aggressively gone after anyone. They seem to be soley using their patent collection as protection against the likes of the cupertino evangelical gangsters.

[Magnus_Pym]

see: FAT

[Anonymous Coward]

You have forgotten that they're screwing a license fee out of most Android phone manufacturers.

[Anonymous Coward]

yahoo next

it's been said the best thing for yahoo to do is be broken up and assets (patents) sold.

it's also been said MS could be the most likely buyer of these.

that potential deal + this AOL deal would give MS a hell of a lot more IP - i guess it's part of the long term bing vs google plan?

[Schultz]

Patent bubble ...

but as opposed to government debt, the write-off term is well-defined. Just too bad about your pension accounts. Anybody holding Microsoft, Google, Apple, Samsung ...? Ten cents of your dollar just went to subsidize the ailing legal industries.

Just make sure you save enough for retirement (maybe go for some rare-earth collection under your mattress, I heard it's bound to appreciate in value and if it didn't, the poisonous parts may offer an easy way out).

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Patent bubble ...

cheers, i'll invest it in law firms instead!

[Eduard Coli]

Amazing!, AOL continues to be EVIL right into the hole

Only AOL could prove that it is still evil on it's deathbed by re-arming one of the biggest patent trolls in IT.