I just can’t imagine Google bidding on these patents now given their wallet that is suddenly $12.5 billion lighter. But it sure sounds like Apple is forging ahead. That’s also not surprising — they’re now behind Google in terms of the sheer number of patents they own. 

Everyone had been expecting the InterDigital patents to fetch more than the Nortel patents which sold for $4.5 billion because there are more of them. But with Google out of the running, I wouldn’t be surprised if they go for less — and potentially far less.

That would be good news. The patent price bubble has gotten completely out of control. But Apple is still definitely a buyer here. I mean, they do need to spend that $70 billion one way or another.