IP P®OSPE©TIVE

A first-mover and current trend-setter in the intellectual property management and valuation fields, Ocean Tomo is changing the way the world looks at IP.  First started in 1987 as a firm that provided IP valuation opinions, Ocean Tomo is now the nation’s first intellectual capital merchant banc with a large bag of services.  The company provides expert testimony services, IP valuation services, IP investment services, as well as general counsel and assistance related to any IP transactions.  However, none of these, in my opinion (and based on media attention), is as important as the public IP auctions that Ocean Tomo began to host in 2006.  These auctions have helped to provide the one thing that continues to cause friction in IP markets: transparency.  Their auctions have facilitated IP transactions amounting to over $120 million.  The value such auctions provide for potential sellers and buyers in the market is starting to spread.  Just today I had a phone conversation with a director charged with the management and monetization of a large IP portfolio for a university, and Ocean Tomo dominated the conversation.  I plan to attend their upcoming Spring Auction in San Francisco at the end of March.  I will report in detail on the conference and the auction.

Ocean Tomo has its hand in a lot of things IP, including the IPXI intellectual property exchange that will open its doors later this year.