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Selling Patents for the Highest Price

selling

Patent owners seek to gain the highest price for their portfolios.

Every buyer will ascribe a different value to the same portfolio depending on how they could use it.

Therefore, attaining the maximum price requires demonstrating the full value of the portfolio to buyers. To do this, we analyze the patents, analyze the buyer’s industry and the companies within that industry, match the patents to the buyers’ needs, market tenaciously, and negotiate.

Patent Analysis

Our patent analysis determines the technical contribution of the entire portfolio to current products and future technology road maps. For currently used patents, we prepare evidence of use claim charts. For the entire portfolio, we prepare marketing materials that describe the patents, their technical contribution, and their value.

Buyer Industry and Company Research

Companies buy patents to license out, cross-license, litigate, gain freedom to operate for current and future products, and exclude current and potential competitors from their markets. Understanding the motivations for buying is crucial to selling patents.

We carefully analyze buyer industries to determine the industry players, their suppliers and customers, their revenues, growth, profit margins, and the size of their existing patent portfolios. We also research their existing patent lawsuits and licenses to understand their patent rivalry with competitors. All these factors can impact the reasons for buying and how we market the patents to individual companies.

Patent Marketing Materials

Based on our patent and industry analysis, we prepare marketing materials explaining the patent portfolio’s value to potential buyers. We customize materials for individual buyers as appropriate. The marketing materials are concise, yet complete: within a few minutes, the target buyer can understand the technical contribution of the portfolio, key patent claims, evidence of use, and, above all, why the portfolio is important to their business.

Engage with Buyers

We do more than simply contact potential buyers; we engage them in a two-way discussion about their patent needs and we build trusting relationships with them. We craft win-win transactions that satisfy the buyer’s strategic needs and generate maximum value for the patent seller. Some transactions go well beyond a patent sale to include licenses for patents in both directions, product sales, and strategic alliances.

FAQ

Ans. Our team's experience spans technology, patent brokering, and executive management. We analyze patents from all three perspectives, and stress the value to buyers from each perspective. We also obtain competing bids from different buyers. These efforts lead to higher prices for patents
Ans. We analyze infringement of the patents, and prepare high quality, detailed evidence of use and marketing materials. We research which companies are active in technical fields related to the patents, and engage in one-on-one discussions with these companies about the value of the patents to their business.
Ans. Each approach has its merits. The best approach will depend on the technical field of the patents, whether there is existing infringement, the number of patents, and the patent owner's wishes. Selling is faster than licensing and has less risk, but licensing can bring more revenues. We will discuss with you the best approach for your portfolio.
Ans. Absolutely. Existing infringement greatly adds value to a patent. But it is necessary to show evidence of that infringement. Our work includes searching for and preparing evidence of patent infringement.
Ans. We only charge a success-based commission. After we succeed in selling patents, the patent owner pays us a share of the revenue obtained. Until that time, we do not charge anything. And we do not charge clients for our incurred expenses. We cover all our own expenses.
Ans. We only charge a commission after we succeed in selling the patents. If the patents do not sell, we charge no fee.
Ans. There is no standard way to value patents. The amount you can gain from a sale or license depends on the value perceived by the buyer or licensee. That is why our focus is in preparing persuasive evidence that your patents have high value. This results in much more revenue to our clients than an academic analysis of patent value.
Ans. For a patent portfolio to have sale value, it should include at least one patent already be granted in at least the US or Europe. It is nearly impossible to sell a patent portfolio consisting only of pending applications (regular patent applications, provisional applications, and PCT applications).
Ans. If a patent expires due to non-payment of fees, in most countries it is possible to reinstate the patent within six months by paying the fees plus a late fee surcharge. Under these conditions, it is possible to sell the patent. However, If a patent has reached the end of its term, it is not possible to sell it. If the remaining term of a patent is less than 5 years, it is very difficult to sell the patent.
Ans. Yes. We first market the patents to buyers worldwide to generate interest. Then we conduct private auctions among interested buyers.