AI expert Michael Fischer explores how the
standardization process in the field of AI is further developing
and the importance of having a strong patent strategy.
When Canadian telecommunications giant "Nortel" went
bankrupt in 2009, not everything was lost. The assets that remained
were a huge patent portfolio which was auctioned in 2011. Although
these assets were purely intangible, the patent portfolio reached a
price of $4.5 billion for around 6000 patents and patent
applications. Nortel described the package as: "... more
than 6,000 patents and patent applications [covering] wireless,
wireless 4G, data networking, optical, voice, Internet, service
provider, semiconductors and other patents"1.
For those involved in building up these assets, it was encouraging
to see that their work created value for the company and for the
economy as a whole. The reason why patents in the field of
telecommunications reach such high prices is that many of the
patents cover
