Thursday 30 April 2009

But who will value the patent-valuation patents?

From last week's Tech Transfer E-News (Wednesday April 22, 2009) comes this fascinating information about the fact that the "secondary patent market" has begun to generate its own intellectual property. This news item cites the work of Aaron R. Feigelson (right), an IP attorney at the Chicago law firm Leydig, Voit & Mayer and author of the 12:01 Tuesday blog.  Feigelson reports that least 14 patents US have been directed to valuing or marketing IP, and 11 of these were issued in the past 30 months. This is his list:
  • 7,493,262 – Method for valuing intellectual property
  • 7,386,460 - System and method for developing and implementing intellectual property marketing
  • 7,346,545 - Method and system for payment of intellectual property royalties by interposed sponsor on behalf of consumer over a telecommunications network
  • 7,346,518 - System and method for determining the marketability of intellectual property assets
  • 7,315-836 - Method for obtaining and allocating investment income based on the capitalization of intellectual property
  • 7,292,994 - System and method for establishing value and financing of intellectual property
  • 7,272,572 - Method and system for facilitating the transfer of intellectual property
  • 7,269,566 - Method for obtaining and allocating investment income based on the capitalization of intellectual property
  • 7,228,288 - Method of repeatedly securitizing intellectual property assets and facilitating investments therein
  • 7,216,100 - Method for obtaining and allocating investment income based on the capitalization of intellectual property
  • 7,188,069 - Method for valuing intellectual property
  • 6,959,280 - Method of protecting against a change in value of intellectual property, and product providing such protection
  • 6,330,547 - Method and apparatus for establishing and enhancing the creditworthiness of intellectual property
  • 6,018,714 - Method of protecting against a change in value of intellectual property, and product providing such protection

There's an opportunity for some splendid circularity here, since the patents listed here are themselves potential subject-matter for their own valuation methodologies.  European patent practitioners are probably heaving a sigh of relief that the business methods exclusions under the European Patent Convention would either render these patents invalid or cast a dark cloud over their value.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I think actually that post-Bilski most of these - if not all of them - will probably be ruled invalid on the grounds that they do not pass the machine-or-transformation test.