InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

[mschere]

From a part of a RMARCHMA post..

5. Matsushita first paid $20m in 1994. That license gave Matsushita paid-up rights for PDC/PHS handsets sold in Japan. 2G TDMA-based products sold outside of Japan are royalty bearing. Matsushita updated to a 3G “infringement” license in 2001 with an upfront non-refundable advance of $19.5m. However, IDCC is required to get some key 3G CDMA patents actually issued by the JPO before IDCC can earn any of the 3G advance on Matsushita’s 3G infrastructure and handset sales in Japan. The 3G contract will apply to all worldwide sales including Japan, but Matsushita is still considered paid-up for sales of 2G PDC/PHS products within Japan. I think that if Matsushita sells a dual-mode PDC/3G product in Japan, then IDCC would earn royalty only on the 3G part of the product, but I don’t know how the price can be separated between the two modes?