Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : The New Qualcomm - write what you like thread. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (1916)	7/27/2000 1:22:45 AM
From: Maurice Winn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12231

Microsoft is to be split up by Judge Jackson as payback for getting lots of customers and making a lot of money. They bundled their browser with their other software and sold the whole lot together for a one for all and all for one low licence fee. QUALCOMM on the other hand has bundled all their software together and licensed it for a one for all and all for one low licence fee! Oh Oh!! That doesn't sound good. Having noticed that Judge Jackson does NOT like to see software bundled together in one nice big package, QUALCOMM has brilliantly pre-empted the anti-trust enforcement agents by doing a Spinco! Give Spinco a bunch of software and the ASICs and send them off to earn their living in the wild, thus avoiding attacks by Judge Jackson, Janet Reno and Joel Klein [the JJJ Klan] What a cunning ploy. Notice how Q! is pretending Spinco is being spun off to ensure Q! gets full payment for their amazing technology [as well as give focus and avoid competing with customers]. As anyone can see, they could simply leave it all bundled together, [AL Reagan and Ptero Dactyl have pointed this out], and charge what they like. Nothing really changes from the buyer's point of view because there is a two-way negotiation instead of just a single negotiation, but the same patents are for sale. If anything, it sets up conflict between Spinco and QUALCOMM as to who gets the lion's share of the royalties. Since both will have essential IPR, nothing happens unless both agree. It's another way in which deadlock can arise. While Dr J is boss of both, that won't happen, but when Spinco is a fully independent company, there will be technology they develop and they'll want a pretty penny for it! But the good thing for now is that it makes things very clear so Nokia and co can see what they will get for their money and that there is a lot of technology in the Q! zone which they need to buy. I don't buy the fair, non-discriminatory stuff as being a fly in the ointment. The purpose of Spinco is obviously to comply with Federal law on bundled software. Now it's a bit more unbundled, so the Feds will be happy. All buyers will be treated fairly, but just as Motorola has pre-existing licensing agreements for older technology and they keep those agreements but new buyers are paying the new rates, so Spinco will charge what the market will bear for their technology in a fair, non-discriminatory blah, blah, blah way to all comers. Nokia is the trouble because they've dithered. They get to pay the high rates and so they should or it would be very, very unfair on companies who took the risk and signed when CDMA couldn't work etc [as claimed by Ericsson, Frezza, Nokia and co]. Now that it does work and is essential to 3G, Nokia comes snivelling along wanting a freebie! Well, they have a very big bank balance and income, so they can ship half of it over to me and the Qsters. I suppose the lawyers had a lot to do with this setup to ensure maximum payments and avoidance of anti-trust attacks. Mqurice