CNet: Ocean Tomo is going to auction off "approximately 400 patents applicable to semiconductors, RFID (radio frequency identification), wireless communications, automotive technology, food, energy and the Internet. The patents will be grouped in 68 blocks ranging in estimated value from $100,000 to more than $5 million". Sound like a good time for patent lawyers? I think so.
The CEO of the company, Jim Malackowsky, claims that intellectual property has become an indispensable asset to most companies -- which is true. "The problem, he said, is that we haven't evolved mechanisms--other than expensive lawsuits and tortured licensing negotiations--for making money off of it..."IP is the largest asset class today and it is the most inefficient," he said. "It is illiquid and it is challenging to value."
I'm not sure this is the way to do it, and I'm not alone in my concern.
"If there are some gems in there, it would be tough to find them and expensive to evaluate them," said Lee Van Pelt, a partner at the Silicon Valley intellectual-property law firm Van Pelt and Yi. "This sort of event appeals to potential plaintiffs. It also appeals to companies that want to take things off the market."
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