Broadband and networking patents developed by bankrupt Nortel Networks go up for sale next week, with tech companies including Google, Apple and Intel heading the list of would-be buyers. Nortel Networks has announced that for reasons relating to the significant level of interest in its approximately 6,000 patents and patent applications, it is adjourning the commencement of the auction for the sale of such assets from June 20, 2011 to June 27, 2011.

Nortel's patents are ranging across its whole spectrum of expertise in wireless, data and optical networking, voice, Internet, semiconductors and other technologies. The most prized patents in the collection relate to next-generation mobile broadband technology used in emerging 4G standards such as long term evolution (LTE).

The sale of Nortel's patents could take days to thrash out and must then be approved by a Delaware bankruptcy court on July 11. The court will likely hear objections from losing bidders and companies that reached licensing deals with Nortel while it was solvent, such as Microsoft.