Feb 5, 2009
The method of using IP assets to raise funds has slowly been growing on bankers and business executives alike. In a knowledge society, small and mid cap enterprises need financing, and the only assets to use as collateral are intangible ones. Fortunately, the world is accepting the idea that intellectual property is more than just a legal right and a burgeoning article of trade. It is also a means for financing an entrepreneurial venture. The concept is not completely new. The film industry has employed a unique financing model based ... Read More
Jan 28, 2009
After reading Jackie Hutter's (author of the IP Asset Maximizer Blog, a great read) comment under Joff Wild's post on IAM, I hastily posted a response (comment #15). Subsequently, I read some other responses, and after giving Jackie's words some more thought, I slightly digress from my initial response.
I still believe transparency is the key to standardizing IP valuation. However, when I speak of such valuation, I do so in the transactional context. Jackie's words, "valuation of intangible assets primarily by what ... Read More
Jan 27, 2009
At one time, it was believed that at least 70% of all corporate value was in a corporation's intangible assets. This percentage, while probably assuming too much for many companies, and also too little for others, has been agreed upon by numerous IP professionals. Apparently, the "average" is stumbled upon by subtracting a corporation's tangible assets from its market capitalization, the remaining assets presumably being IP. It is true that tangible assets have made up less and less of a corporation's market ... Read More
Jan 26, 2009
The success of "patent trolls" has been the root of a new anti-patent troll model implemented to defeat the patent troll movement and instill value in precious IP. RPX, a San Francisco-based start-up, is a "defensive IP aggregator". It is a firm that buys up free-market patents in an effort to safeguard tech companies from expensive patent lawsuits. The firm sells memberships to companies based on the company's operating income, and then turns around and buys patents on the market that relate, ... Read More
Jan 25, 2009
I might be stretching it a bit to call it a stock market (this early), but developments are on the horizon to push IP in that direction.
The success of public auction events such as the Ocean Tomo auctions has sparked a new concept that will continue the trend toward liquidity of IP value. The Intellectual Property Exchange International (IPXI), of which Ocean Tomo is the founder and majority owner, is "the world's first financial exchange with an intellectual property focus." With its ... Read More
Jan 24, 2009
A somewhat recent phenomenon in the patent arena is the creation of "patent pools", where a number of dynamic companies with different agendas throw their patents onto a single licensing platform making their patents available under common terms. In effect, a company's IP is available to pool members, but barriers to enter the market are effectively erected, causing more prospective competitors to license from the patent pool. Therefore, even when a company's specific patent is not needed, it reaps the benefit. These ... Read More
Jan 23, 2009
This is the "have your cake and eat it too" scheme.
Companies often believe that core intellectual property only holds value in the competitive advantage it creates through its operational use. Although this may be true in some cases, a core IP sale and license-back model may be advantageous in other situations. If a company's IP is critical to its operations, but it needs cash to operate, it may sell its IP to another company in a transaction that allows the selling company ... Read More
Jan 22, 2009
(The following will be the first installment of a series called "Monetizing IP" that IP Prospective plans to run daily over the next week. The topics will cover conventional models such as sale, license-back, and outbound licensing, and then will move to new models, such as patent pools, IP auctions, IP stock markets/investing, and defensive IP aggregators.)
It is no secret that we live in an information society, but consider the following: according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, intellectual property in ... Read More
Jan 19, 2009
Transparency, or the lack thereof, has caused hopeful transactors in the IP market more frustration than Terrell Owens has caused General Managers in the NFL. The sell-side has never had a platform on which to market their rights to all potential buyers, and the buy-side has never had a platform on which complete information is disclosed. This is partly (and to some, wholly) due to the inherent character of intellectual property and its valuation.
The phenomenon of IP Auctions, however, has the potential ... Read More
Jan 16, 2009
Good information on IP, IP management, and IP investing is surprisingly hard to find. MBA and Law school courses cover most issues dealing with IP recognition, litigation, and protection, but few deal squarely with the issue of IP management and the burgeoning investment market focusing on intellectual property.
When it comes to this niche field, there is one firm that is leading the charge. Based out of Chicago, Ocean Tomo, a self-proclaimed Intellectual Capital Merchant Banc® firm is at the frontier of corporate ... Read More
Ian McClure is a former corporate & securities and intellectual property law attorney with 
Trevor M. Blum is a former Associate in the Chicago-based, valuation practice group of Ocean Tomo, LLC., an intellectual property (IP) consultancy. Additionally, he provided instrumental research support to Intellectual Property Exchange International, Inc., an IP exchange start-up. Trevor holds a B.S. from Indiana University and is currently an MBA candidate at the University of Cambridge, focusing on international business and finance. His interests also include entrepreneurship, economics, and informational visualization. He enjoys running and cycling in his free time. Trevor seeks to bring a transnational business perspective to the blog. 