Google Launches A Marketplace To Buy Patents From Interested Sellers
Bob Lawrence (VE1RLL)
Posts: 1,720
Google announced this morning the launch of an experimental program that will allow it to purchase patents from businesses and other patent holders who wish to sell. The company says its new Patent Purchase Promotion, opening next month, is an effort to remove friction from a patent market that currently fraught with patent trolls, lawsuits and other wasted efforts.
On its new online portal, patent holders will be able to essentially list the patents they have for sale, and set their own prices. The marketplace will not remain open indefinitely, however instead, Google says that it will go live on May 8, 2015, and will be available through May 22, 2015. The decision to keep it open only for a limited time means Google will have to work quickly to determine which patents it wants to buy, which benefits sellers in need of a more immediate decision.
If Google decides to buy a patent, it says it will work through due diligence with the company, and close the transaction in short order. In fact, the company says it anticipates that all patent sellers will be paid by late August by way of ACH bank transfer.
The portal is only open to U.S. patent submissions, it should be noted.
Google stresses also that this program is only an experiment equating it to a 20% project for Googles patent lawyers, which refers to Googles program that once allowed employees to spend some portion of their time with the company working on unofficial projects that may or may not be continued or eventually translated into new lines of business. However, with something that could make a more substantial impact to Googles bottom line, that remark may be underselling the potential of the program just a bit. After all, this is essentially Googles bid to get its hands on valuable assets before they ended up in the hands of patent trolls who leverage their own portfolios of patents to generate revenue for their business at the cost of others in the industry.
Patent trolls, and their often despicable ways, have been in the forefront of peoples minds in recent days. They were even hilariously skewered in a takedown by comedian John Oliver on Last Week Tonight, where he quipped that calling them patent trolls was an insult to real trolls. At least trolls actually do something they control bridge access for goats and ask people fun riddles, he said.
More info:
http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/27/google-launches-a-marketplace-to-buy-patents-from-interested-sellers/#.apetyn:Ysp0
On its new online portal, patent holders will be able to essentially list the patents they have for sale, and set their own prices. The marketplace will not remain open indefinitely, however instead, Google says that it will go live on May 8, 2015, and will be available through May 22, 2015. The decision to keep it open only for a limited time means Google will have to work quickly to determine which patents it wants to buy, which benefits sellers in need of a more immediate decision.
If Google decides to buy a patent, it says it will work through due diligence with the company, and close the transaction in short order. In fact, the company says it anticipates that all patent sellers will be paid by late August by way of ACH bank transfer.
The portal is only open to U.S. patent submissions, it should be noted.
Google stresses also that this program is only an experiment equating it to a 20% project for Googles patent lawyers, which refers to Googles program that once allowed employees to spend some portion of their time with the company working on unofficial projects that may or may not be continued or eventually translated into new lines of business. However, with something that could make a more substantial impact to Googles bottom line, that remark may be underselling the potential of the program just a bit. After all, this is essentially Googles bid to get its hands on valuable assets before they ended up in the hands of patent trolls who leverage their own portfolios of patents to generate revenue for their business at the cost of others in the industry.
Patent trolls, and their often despicable ways, have been in the forefront of peoples minds in recent days. They were even hilariously skewered in a takedown by comedian John Oliver on Last Week Tonight, where he quipped that calling them patent trolls was an insult to real trolls. At least trolls actually do something they control bridge access for goats and ask people fun riddles, he said.
More info:
http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/27/google-launches-a-marketplace-to-buy-patents-from-interested-sellers/#.apetyn:Ysp0
Comments
This strikes me as somewhat cynical toward inventors who may actually have valuable IP. It assumes they'll take less money because of the convenience of a quick sale. Patent trolls comb through applications and grants all the time. I'd be surprised if the really good stuff stayed available any length of time.
The details of the marketplace are unclear, but by it's nature, it likely won't be transparent or open. So not really a "marketplace" at all, but a Web page where you can submit your query privately. If it were an open process, that would just encourage trolls to follow up on the more interesting patents for themselves.