Bloomberg reports that Samsung is interested in bidding for InterDigital's patents. The reasons for this is obviously. Apple is currently waging a massive patent war against Android device makers and it has largely caught the Open Handset Alliance off-guard.
My question is why would Samsung be interested on acting alone. Should it not be joining Google and pulling their resources to try and outbid Apple? Imagine if OHA members had worked together with Google to fight off Apple's winning bid for the Nortel patents, things would be vastly different today.
And given how much the Nortel patents fetched, the $5 billion that InterDigital patents are estimated to be worth could go much higher. If that is true, both Apple and Google could be facing off once more and tech companies trying to decide which side they should join.
In the Nortel bids, Intel joined Google while Microsoft, RIM, and Sony (an Android device maker) joined Apple.
It would be nice if HTC, Motorola, Acer, and others commit $1 billion each to the effort.
Then again, you have to wonder if this could happen at all. I would have thought that Sony would have joined Google instead of Apple during the Nortel bidding process. Perhaps, Sony saw the writing on the wall and did not want to get on Apple's bad side. Apple has sued just about every other Android device makers but there is no patent suit pending against Sony initiated by Apple.
Apple has long memories and it will remember those who has gone up against it. And with $76 billion in the bank, who would want to bid against Apple unless they don't have a choice.
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