Jul 14, 2009
Could this be a resurgence of IP securitization? Financial Times has reported a large IP securitization deal worth $250M executed by Morgan Stanley with Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Investors' return will be based on milestone royalty payments received from sales of a drug that hasn't even been approved yet. Before the recession, securitizing intangibles was becoming somewhat popular. Many are aware of the Dunkin Donuts deal that hit headlines everywhere. Still, these deals, along with most other deals, have dried up. The Vertex deal shows ... Read More
Mar 24, 2009
I will be in San Francisco this week for the kick-off of the IP Markets 2009 series (lets hope its a series) and the live IP auction hosted by Ocean Tomo. Let me know if you will be in SF this Thursday or Friday and would like to meet.
Rumors have been flying about the economy's negative effect on sale prices for the IP in this auction's catalog, and on IP value in general. This event will be a great indicator of the economic ... Read More
Mar 6, 2009
In a letter sent to President Obama this week from the Licensing Executives Society (LES), the new administration was asked to consider three initiatives to improve the marketplace for intellectual property. According to the LES press release "[t]he United States must do more to help innovative ideas and products reach the marketplace," and there needs to be new measures taken so that technology transfer and the commercialization of intellectual property is made easier and more efficient. Three specific initiatives were set forth ... Read More
Mar 2, 2009
China's State Intellectual Property Office posted a statement today on their site titled "Turning More Patents into Profits", detailing some of the reasons why China has such a high patent application rate, but such a low transformation rate. Transformation, of course, means turning the patent into a product and a source for obtaining cash. Of note was a quick mention of amendments to China's Patent Law, which are currently in the works and expected to take effect on October 1. According to ... 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
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. 