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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