Qualcomm today announced that it has acquired some 2,400 mobile technology patents and patent applications from Hewlett-Packard. About 1,400 of those cover patents and pending patent applications from the U.S. while the remainder are from other countries. They include “fundamental mobile operating system techniques” from various mobile eras at HP, including its iPAQ handheld foray and its brief jaunt into the world of webOS tablets and smartphones.
The acquisition further enhances the strength and diversity of Qualcomm Incorporated’s industry-leading mobile patent portfolio and will enable the company to offer even more value to current and future licensees.
Among the patents acquired by Qualcomm are Palm patents that HP acquired when it bought out Palm Inc back in 2010.
After failing to make a mark in the mobile space with its Palm acquisition, HP pulled back for a while before returning last year with the launch of Android tablets. This week, it launched its first Android-powered smartphones in India.
Terms and purchase price of the acquisition were not revealed.
Qualcomm Acquires Palm, IPAQ and Bitfone Patent Portfolio from HP
Acquisition Further Enhances Strength and Diversity of Qualcomm Incorporated’s Patented Mobile Technologies
SAN DIEGO – January 23, 2014 – Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) and HP today announced that Qualcomm Incorporated has acquired a patent portfolio from Hewlett-Packard Company, Hewlett-Packard Development Co LP and Palm Inc. The portfolio, comprising approximately 1,400 granted patents and pending patent applications from the US and approximately 1,000 granted patents and pending patent applications from other countries, covers technologies that include fundamental mobile operating system techniques. The acquisition further enhances the strength and diversity of Qualcomm Incorporated’s industry-leading mobile patent portfolio and will enable the company to offer even more value to current and future licensees. The purchase price was not publicly disclosed.
About HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. With the broadest technology portfolio spanning printing, personal systems, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP delivers solutions for customers’ most complex challenges in every region of the world. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.
About Qualcomm Incorporated
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless communications technologies. Qualcomm’s licensing business is operated by Qualcomm Technology Licensing, or QTL, a division of Qualcomm Incorporated, which owns the vast majority of Qualcomm’s patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm’s engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QCT. For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of mobile devices and digital communications equipment, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm’s website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.