BlackBerry scandal continues to be a treasure trove of patent circles

The BlackBerry's security technology patents and wireless basic technology patents are an attractive "treasure trove" for buyers, Bloomberg reported January 15, although the BlackBerry has denied reports that the BlackBerry and Samsung are negotiating deals on patent acquisitions. Lenovo may have bought the BlackBerry in early 2013, but Lenovo later clarified rumours.

The BlackBerry's patent "treasure trove" includes both older mobile basic functional patents and newer security technology patents and features that are very useful to consumers, such as keyboard predictive input or meeting schedule settings, and so on. The fact that Sony's hacking attack last year has caused a growing number of companies to pay close attention to cyber security, coupled with the plethora of lawsuits surrounding mobile-phone fundamentals, is expected to be a key to defending security or adding chips to the patent war.

It is well known that Samsung is playing smart-phone patent lawsuits with Apple around the world, and that holding more patents will in the long run help make Samsung Pay less for Apple's compensation.

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), BlackBerry is the 75th-highest-ranked agency in the year, with 500 to 1000 patents per year on improvements to its own mobile device. The BlackBerry, which has just been patented this month, includes secure SMS processing, a new keyboard, smartphones that measure magnetic intensity, and e-mail filters. Other recent patents include displays that are less prone to fragmentation when they fall, technology for media collaboration editing on different devices, and methods of controlling home appliances through smartphones.

In addition, the BlackBerry also has a large number of patents are acquired through acquisitions. The BlackBerry is one of six members in a consortium that paid 4.5 billion of dollars in 2011 to buy more than 6000 patents for Nortel Networks.

Monica, a patent investment bank based in California, Calif., said in 2013 that Apple and BlackBerry are the two North American equipment manufacturers that cite each other's technology in patent applications--patent companies need to clarify competing technologies, To ensure that the technology they are applying for has not been patented.

The BlackBerry's patent portfolio has also been challenged by other companies, who claim to have invented some of the key technologies in the mobile e-mail sector. In 2006, RIM (now the BlackBerry) spent 612.5 million of billions of dollars on a settlement with a patented NTP company on patent ownership of wireless e-mail service technology.

Acquiring a company for patented technology is certainly not new in the tech circle. Google's 9.8 billion dollar takeover of Motorola Mobility in 2012 was largely aimed at strengthening the company's competitiveness in the mobile patent field over companies such as Apple and BlackBerry. (Yau LA)