![]() ![]() The LOT Network counts thousands of members: Google, Amazon, Uber, Salesforce, Facebook, Microsoft, eBay, Netflix, Airbnb, ByteDance and IBM, though there are plenty of smaller companies in there too, from fledgling startups to pre-IPO scale-ups. ![]() Such PAEs - also called non-practicing entities (NPEs) or more commonly “patent trolls” - are organizations that make most of their revenue through patent enforcement, shell companies set up to assert those rights with no tangible products or R&D associated with the patents. Its procurement history included legacy software companies such as Borland, Novell (via its 2014 Attachmate acquisition), Serena Software and certain software assets of HPE.Įven as recently as the months before, during and after OpenText’s approach in August 2022, Micro Focus had dozens of patents granted through applications it had made years earlier, spanning everything from machine learning-based network device profiling and stateless password management to blockchain-based transaction methods.īack in 2021, however, Micro Focus had joined LOT Network, a nonprofit outfit that promises to protect its members through an agreement that automatically cross-licenses patents that fall into the hands of patent assertion entities (PAEs). Over a period of nearly 50 years, Micro Focus racked up a catalog of thousands of patents both through internal R&D - it started as an early pioneer in COBOL - and acquisitions. Now, with Micro Focus set to end its membership of anti-patent troll organization LOT Network next week, the big question will be: What will OpenText do next? PAE off But there are fears that OpenText also could capitalize on something else: a windfall of thousands of patents amassed by Micro Focus. In our coverage at the time, TechCrunch considered various takes on what it might mean for their respective customers, and the motivations behind the deal.Ĭhief among them, Micro Focus’s assets would help OpenText diversify its product suite and become a stickier proposition. Last August, Canadian enterprise technology giant OpenText announced plans to acquire U.K.-based IT software vendor and consultancy Micro Focus for a chunky $6 billion, a deal that closed on January 31. A megabucks enterprise acquisition that closed six months ago could lead to thousands of patents landing on the open market. ![]()
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