The auction drew interest from major tech companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft and Intel Bankrupt telecoms firm Nortel has sold its remaining patent portfolio for $4.5bn (£2.8bn) to a consortium of six firms including Apple and Microsoft.
The other consortium members are Sony, Research In Motion, Ericsson, and EMC.
The auction of Nortel’s assets had been hotly contested, with Google and Intel losing out.
The sale included more than 6,000 patents and patent applications including areas such as data networking and semiconductors.
“The size and dollar value for this transaction is unprecedented, as was the significant interest in the portfolio among major companies around the world,” said George Riedel, chief strategy officer at Nortel.
Google had opened the bidding in April at $900m.
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