Are you up for the patent sales

We all know that patents are a great source of monetization. Many businesses nowadays opt for patent sales in order to add capital gain and extra revenue stream to the existing business. Amidst the hustle of arranging patent sales, finding right buyers, valuations, mapping which IP assets to sell, there is a greater need to understand when a business is up for the IP auction or patent sales. The first question that strikes your mind is why not to license out instead of selling. While, it is understood that a business’s intangible assets in the form of technology patents can add substantial business revenues while being possessed and utilized in house. But there are times when the patents no longer seem to be streamlined or utilized within your current business goals and strategies. During this time, the additional responsibility of maintaining those patents in force and regularly auditing them can be a financial burden itself.

 Interestingly, those patents which aren’t streamlined with your core business strategies could be much needed by other businesses which are working around similar patented technologies. Such businesses could be your potential buyers. Apart from this if your business is seeking patent sales; there are other considerable factors like appropriate valuation of the patent portfolio. You have to estimate the correct worth of patents with regard to market and income based approaches. In this case, an alert and organized IP team can pave the way for success. Your IP team shall consist of a mix of technology professionals, IP strategists, core business experts and in house IP counsel. It is utmost important to let your IP teams plan regular IP audits of your existing IP portfolio to gauge which patents are in force, which patents are core to the business, evaluating patents, and estimating revenues from various licensing agreements. Such activities reflect an overall picture of the business’s IP portfolio which will further facilitate successful patent sales. At last to sum up, it is appropriate for businesses to consider the aforementioned points before embarking upon sales of IP assets. 

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Finally the Compulsory License granted to Natco

The ever popular patent case that has been in the news for quite some time has finally taken a climax with the grant of Compulsory License to Hyderabad based Natco Pharma for the anticancer drug “Nexavar”. The original patent on Nexavar being held by Germany based Bayer Pharmaceuticals. This is India’s first ever granted Compulsory License. Decision details can be accessed here. 

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Do you put the cart before the horse?

 

I know our readers must be brainstorming as on what I have to do with the horses and the cart. Interestingly, sometimes this adage holds true for many over zealous entrepreneurs and inventors. It is well understood that competition in the technology market is rampant. There are times when the race to the patent office is the only thing engrossed in the minds of budding entrepreneurs. And why not when we have a “first to file” system on the records, we are in a major rush! Amidst this massive rush of filing multiple patent applications and building your patent portfolio, many inventors assign least priority to the most important piece of information. You guessed it right: it’s the ever important “Prior Art”. For some, prior art just constitute giving a couple of hours scan on the existing patent databases and kudos if you don’t have a similar patent on the records. You begin filing your application!

Is it a right methodology, well absolutely no. You definitely cannot put the cart before the horses and repent in the end. An insightful Prior Art report with the maximum emphasis laid on similar existing technology patents, gives you a lucid idea on the areas to work upon. A well researched Prior Art also assists you in finding the patent whitespace areas worthy of innovation. These untapped areas could serve as the probable grounds for innovation where businesses can streamline their IP strategies efficiently. As an IP strategist, my emphasis lies in working sequentially yet smartly. Entrepreneurs should put thorough efforts and gain complete insights of the existing prior art before filing their patent applications. This will save you loads of time later when you devote your efforts in formulating business strategies rather than answering multiple office actions on accounts of existing prior arts. On a positive note, I hope now you won’t put your cart before the horse! 

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