Description: Blackberry has announced the sales of the bulk of its remaining patents related to its communications technology. Catapault IP Innovations has purchased this intellectual property for $600 million in a combination of cash and promissory notes. As Blackberry has moved itself from a mobile device company to a cybersecurity business, fans of the legendary handsets have had a slow lament for the good old days.

Date:  January 31, 2022

Source:  barrons.com

 Link: https://www.barrons.com/articles/blackberry-sell-patents-mobile-devices-51643643081

Discussion points:

1) How many of the students in your class remember the Blackberry? Did any of your fellow students ever use one?

2) What lessons can the Blackberry story teach us about business strategy?

3) Chapter 9 of Wiley’s Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making tells us how we are to account for long-lived assets, including patents. Where do we record patents on the balance sheet? How are they amortized?