Nortel Networks Inc. has received significant level of interest in patents that can be used for smartphone technology. Accordingly, it postponed an action sanctioned by a bankruptcy court in the United States from June 20 to June 27, at 9:00 a.m.

Apple Inc., the maker of the iPad and the iPhone will be trying to outbid Google Inc. for the tech portfolio, Bloomberg News reports, citing two people familiar with knowledge of the matter said.

Google, operator of the world's most popular search engine, has a stake in the smartphone market as its Android operating system is already used by most mobile phones.

Nortel Networks, once North America's largest communications equipment provider, has sought bankruptcy protection and has sold most its assets. Among its assets remaining are 6,000 patents and patent applications spanning wireless, wireless 4G, data networking, optical, voice, internet, service provider, semiconductors and other patent portfolios. The extensive patent portfolio touches nearly every aspect of telecommunications and additional markets as well, including Internet search and social networking, Canada-based Nortel said.

Search giant Google Inc. has inked a deal to lead an auction for Nortel's patents with its $900 million offer to buy the patents.
The Google-led private auction on June 27 will be held at the offices of law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in New York.
The bankruptcy court will evaluate the auction results on July 11, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. (ET). The hearing was originally scheduled at the end of the month.

A court filing says that only the auction date and the bankruptcy sale hearing have been moved. Parties interested to participate in the auction were required to send in their initial bids by June 13.

It is not Google who is only interested in the patents. According to reports, tech firms, like Research in Motion, maker of the Blackberry smartphones; and Microsoft Corp., developer of the world's most popular operating system for computers, have set their eyes on the patents. RPX Corp., a patent-service company, is said to have put together a consortium of possible bidders, to bid for the assets.

Aside from counter-offers, the proposed sale have received objections from industry giants like Hewlett-Packard, the world's largest manufacturer of personal computers; and Nokia, the market leader in smartphones. Microsoft, Nokia, and communications firm AT&T Inc. have said in court filings that that free-and-clear patent sale would hurt the whole industry.

The proposed sale has sent ripples in the technology sector, as the arsenal of patents can be used to defend against intellectual property lawsuits, ward off competitors and have headway in for future generations of smartphones and other devices.

Google, whose Android operating system is used in over 35% of smartphones, has admitted it needs the patent portfolio to defend itself from lawsuits. Several mobile companies have sued Android partners for patent infringement, and Google has been sued by Oracle Corp. over Java. "One of a company's best defenses against this kind of litigation is (ironically) to have a formidable patent portfolio, as this helps maintain your freedom to develop new products and services," Google's general counsel, Kent Walker, wrote on the company blog in April.

For the setting the floor price for the bidding, Google will receive at least $25 million if it is outbid at the auction.