We always
read about wireless mobile companies suing for patent infringement. In order to
make the litigation, these companies need to acquire many patents. Lots of
these patents end up being sold to other companies. In the past few weeks Ericsson
and Nokia sold many of these patents to companies in other industries. Here is
a look at what kind of patent deal they sell.
Ericsson sold 820 patents to Unwired Planet Inc. The
company invented many technologies that connect mobile phones to the internet.
Part of the deals is that Ericsson will receive 20% of the first 100M in sales,
50% of first 500M, and 70% for any more revenue. Plus, this comes at a time when
Unwired Planet is suin Google and Apple for infringement. I am specualtaing
that acquiringg these patents will help their case.
In other news, Nokia transferred 30 patents to
Memory Tehcnologies, LLC which is a company that does R&D in the physical,
engineering, and life sciences industries.
http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2013/04/recent-patent-assignments.html
http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2013/04/recent-patent-assignments.html
I think selling patent is just another way those companies try to make money. I wonder if they are going to use the money to continue the litigation, it they are going to use the money to invent new things. Their decision after selling patent is an essential step to determine whether the company can be saved or not.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Xuan, a number of companies seem to be increasingly using patents and intellectual property to create revenues. Nokia is reportedly going to make $653 Million from patent related licensing fees this fiscal year.
ReplyDeleteits hard to tell if selling or licensing is a better way to make money. selling provides short term cash, while licensing is a long term revenue stream. some companies would need that short term cash to invest in something else, but others would prefer to have a steady stream of revenues. either way, companies would earn the least money by suing each other, compared to licensing or selling. even settling might be better in some cases.
ReplyDeleteGood point Jerel. Many times, companies sell their patents because they have no use for it. Or companies just acquire or sell bundles of useless patents, where one eventually ends up being profitable.
ReplyDeleteDoes this almost cross the line into trollism? It seems to be on the trolly side to me.
ReplyDeleteSelling patents may be the only alternative to keep a company going, no matter how useless they may be. However, as seen from Kodak's recent activities, short cash won't last long.
ReplyDelete