MoSys Inc. (MOSY) Soars on Patent Sale

Shares of MoSys Inc. (NASDAQ:MOSY) surged Friday on news the company agreed to sell 73 patents to a subsidiary of Tessera Technologies (NASDAQ:TSRA) for $35 million.

MoSys closed Friday at $4.20, gaining $1.23, or 41.41 percent. They traded in a range of $3.21 to $4.75 on the day, with a total of 2,064,147 shares changing hands. They have a market cap of just over $161 million.

Tessera Technologies closed Friday at $16.75, dropping $0.12, or 0.71 percent. They traded in a range of $16.73 to $16.99 on the day. They have a market cap of just above $863 million.

Nokia (NOK) Beefs Up Apple (AAPL) Patent Suits

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are both trading lower today, as the mobile giant boosted the number of patent-infringement claims against Apple.

In the second patent infringement filing with the U.S. International Trade Commission against Apple, Nokia says Applie has violated numerous patents they hold in reference to use in iPads, iPods, Macs and iPhones.

Areas covered in the patents include call quality, positioning, use of Bluetooth accessories, multi-tasking operating systems and data synchronization.

Nokia head of IP, Paul Melin said, “Our latest ITC filing means we now have 46 Nokia patents in suit against Apple, many filed more than 10 years before Apple made its first iPhone. Nokia is a leading innovator in technologies needed to build great mobile products and Apple must stop building its products using Nokia’s proprietary innovation.”

Nokia was trading at $8.68, down $0.06, or 0.69 percent, as of 11:43 AM EDT. Apple was trading at $349.84, falling $0.60, or 0.17 percent.

Apple (AAPL) (NOK) (EK) and Patent Battles

The headline that Kodak (NYSE:EK) won a round in its battle against Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a patent dispute, as well Apple winning one against Nokia (NYSE:NOK), is far too early in the process to draw any conclusions yet.

Kodak's dispute with Apple garnered significant headlines because it included the almost interesting number of $1 billion as what was potentially at stake.

Even the headline of Apple winning a round against Nokia concerning 5 patents is largely irrelevant, as it could go under further review, and it's only 5 of 75 patents under dispute.

The other factor in the Nokia, Apple dispute is it's not just being fought in one venue, but in six venues, and the outcome within those parameters is anyone's guess.

In the end, in these cases, and others, we're only at the beginning of working through the legal process concerning patents, and ultimately it's sure to result in changes in the laws, although that is probably years away.

Apple (AAPL) Cleared of Nokia (NOK) Patent Infringement

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) lost a round in its patent infringement lawsuits against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), as a ruling said they didn't violate any of the five mobile patents being ruled on.

An International Trade Commission judge, which hears a large number of patent cases, said that Apple wasn't in violation of the patents Nokia alleged they were.

Included with the patents ruled upon were those for computers, mobile phones and portable music players.

Nokia closed Friday at $8.35, dropping $0.10, or 1.18 percent. Apple closed at $351.54, gaining $6.57, or 1.90 percent.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Ready to Duke it Out Over Nortel Patents

Potentially lucrative patents from Nortel Networks Corp. are closed to being auctioned off, and major rivals Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are among those companies ready to battle to acquire the assets.

Nortel has been selling its portfolio of about 4,000 patents after its filing for bankruptcy in 2009, and this particular portfolio includes patents related to long-term evolution, or LTE, wireless phone networks.

These are potentially lucrative more from the defensive strategy of a company when they are forced to defend themselves against a lawsuit. They could also be used as an offensive tool to sue other companies as well.

The highly competitive wireless industry is becoming increasingly litigious, and have a cadre of patents to defend or attack is a growing necessity for those who want to survive and thrive in the current environment.

Some companies could even buy them for the sole purpose of suing others. That suggests a highly competitive bidding battle for these particular patents.

Others will buy them and license out the technology, another very lucrative business opportunity.

Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp., a pair of companies based in China, are also reportedly interested in the patents, as are a couple of consortiums put together to pool their capital in order to make a competitive bid.