Seattle-based RealNetworks said it will sell about 190 patents, 170 patent applications and what it described as next-generation video codec software to the Santa Clara, Calif.-based semiconductor giant. "Codec" stands for coding-decoding and represents technologies used in the transmission of video. RealNetworks also said its video codec software team will join Intel.

"It represents an extraordinary opportunity for us to generate additional capital to boost investments in new businesses and markets while still protecting our existing business," said RealNetworks president and CEO Thomas Nielsen.

RealNetworks, whose shares reached $9.52 in afternoon trading, also said it retains certain rights to use the patents in current and future projects. Intel and RealNetworks signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to further develop the video codec software and related technologies.

RealNetworks has been on a long search to reinvigorate growth and reorganize its business. The company provides digital media services and software to people who use RealNetworks technology to purchase and manage digital content, and network operators and wireless carriers, who use the company's solutions to create, send and receive content.

As evidenced by the Intel deal and Wall Street's reaction to it, the company owns a hodgepodge of digital media assets that could prove valuable to acquirers. The patent sale marks the first bold move by Nielsen, who took the company's reins in November from interim CEO Mike Lunsford.

The company owns a minority stake in music subscription service Rhapsody and offers a range of software-as-a-service products to carriers, including ringtones. It also offers its Helix streaming media platform, RealPlayer video player, online and social games, and SuperPass online video service.

The deal continues a landgrab for patents and intellectual property, albeit on a far smaller scale than some of the huge deals announced in 2011. A consortium led by Apple Inc. paid $4.5 billion for patents from Nortel Networks Inc., while Google Inc. agreed to buy Motorola Mobility Inc. for $12.5 billion in a deal largely driven by the search giant's interest in the handset maker's wireless patent portfolio.

Intel said the RealNetworks deal was driven by the need for more media and graphics capabilities in computing devices, including ultrabooks, smartphones and other digital media technologies.