US based iPhone maker Apple has purchased 1,024 patents and patent applications from the Rockstar Consortium, which includes the company itself, Research In Motion (RIM), Microsoft, Ericsson, Sony and EMC.
Of the total 1012 patents, 695 have already been registered at US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as part of $2.5bn deal, with remaining in the process of registration, Yonhap News reports.
Owning a 58% stake in the consortium, the Cupertino firm led group had won an auction for a package of 6000 Nortel patents for about $4.5bn in July 2011.
The recent transaction follows consortium’s transfer of about 1,350 patents over the past six month period, almost all of which were acquired by Apple.
It is being considered that the move is linked to Apple’s ongoing global patent battle with its rivals including Samsung, as possession of complete rights enable the firm to handle pattent battle more offensively.
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