If you’re a patent owner, monetising your IP in the US may seem like a tough task right now. The traditional licensing route has become so mired in litigation and re-exam challenges that it is increasingly only open to the richest plaintiffs. And although we recently reported on an uptick in sales in the first three months of this year, it is widely acknowledged that patent values are depressed. In short, it is not a sellers market.
But that doesn’t mean owners don’t have options. Earlier this week, a new initiative designed to give them a way of profiting from their inventions was launched; while we also got an early progress report on another programme aimed at shaking up the licensing market.