Apple and Microsoft group buys Nortel patents

The other consortium members are Sony, Research In Motion, Ericsson, and EMC.

The auction of Nortel's assets had been hotly contested, with Google and Intel losing out.

The sale included more than 6,000 patents and patent applications including areas such as data networking and semiconductors.

"The size and dollar value for this transaction is unprecedented, as was the significant interest in the portfolio among major companies around the world," said George Riedel, chief strategy officer at Nortel.

Google had opened the bidding in April at $900m.

Patent wars

Canada's Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2009 and has been selling assets since then, raising about $3.2bn in the process.

Earlier on Thursday, Nortel had obtained a court order to extend its bankruptcy protection to 14 December "to provide stability to the Nortel companies to continue with their divestiture and other restructuring efforts".

The patents mark the last major assets to be sold by the company.

Patents are becoming highly prized pieces of intellectual property; Kazinform cites BBC News.

To learn more go to www.bbc.co.uk