fmilt, what I see in all this that makes me optimistic about 3G licensing is this...
HG said in the last earnings CC, I believe, that IDCC's licensing momentum had all but stalled, due, in a large part, to the ERICY litigation dragging out so long. It is pretty clear to me that IDCC wants to settle 2G before licensing with companies for their 3G IPR. And it is pretty clear that nothing would be resolved with many licensees until ERICY was settled.
If I'm right, this settlement will get things moving again. The industry needs to resolve the 3G IPR and royalty rate issues now, because of the European rollout of WCDMA. IDCC needs to establish a fair and reasonable royalty rate for their 3G patents. Now that the 2G issues are being put to bed, potential licensees have a much better idea of the total royalty picture. NEC and Matsushita should set s pretty good precendent for their 3G rates. The ERICY settlement will set the rates for 2G.
If we had taken this to trial, this could have gone on for some time with appeals.
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