Generating Revenue from Your Patent Portfolio
What Is Patent Monetization?
Monetizing patent portfolios involves turning valuable but underutilized intellectual property into a financial asset. A successful patent monetization program incorporates various approaches. One approach is identifying patents that third parties are using without the school's permission, then securing revenuegenerating licenses from those third parties. Another is identifying patents that may offer more value than the revenue generated from standard commercial licenses. An effective monetization program should help the school identify which patents can and should be sold and which novel ideas developed by the university deserve the most protection.
How Can Patent Monetization Help You?
A properly run patent monetization program can become an ongoing alternative source of revenue for schools and help eliminate unnecessary costs associated with the school's patent portfolio.
What Are Some of the Historical Challenges With Monetizing a Patent Portfolio?
Historically, patent monetization programs have been expensive and unpredictable. Two primary costs predominated: 1) analyzing patents to determine whether a third party was improperly using them was labor-intensive and required expensive specialists and 2) once unauthorized use of a school's patents was found, expensive litigation was often necessary to secure the fair value of that use.
Why Is Now a Good Time to Consider Patent Monetization?
Three developments have converged to make patent monetization a compelling option. First, schools are actively looking for alternative revenue sources to support their mission. Second, with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), analyzing patents has become far less expensive, eliminating hundreds of hours of costly attorney time. Third, the legal industry has seen a proliferation of so-called "litigation funders," which are entities that pay for the cost of litigation in exchange for a percentage of a favorable result. As a result, the monetary risks of a patent monetization program are substantially less than they have ever been, and sophisticated technology has substantially improved the ability to find the unauthorized use of a school's patents.
How Holland & Knight Can Help
Holland & Knight is strongly positioned to help schools turn their patents into revenue streams. Our deep bench of patent attorneys has the experience to cover the diverse subject matter traditionally found in a university's patent portfolio. We also have access to state-of-the-art, AI-powered software platforms that we use to help our clients quickly identify strategic patents and unauthorized users of those patents. In addition, we have strong relationships with a large number of litigation funders, should they become necessary. Finally, with our experience in higher education, we understand the unique sensitivities universities must navigate and are able to successfully guide our clients in making strategic choices of how, when and against whom to focus their monetization strategies.
An outline of our typical portfolio monetization approach is below:
FINDING GEMS: PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS
• Leverage technology to slice through patent portfolios, quickly identifying the top monetizable portfolio assets
• Run top candidates through AI infringement detection platforms
• Group results by target or industry to create a focused approach
DEVELOP MONETIZABLE PACKAGES
• Map assets to potential targets and industries
• Assess potential damages to determine value
• Identify "lead" patents and optimal patent groupings
• Develop monetizable packages that are consistent with the institution's goals
GO-TO-MARKET PLAN
• Develop a go-to-market strategy to secure the highest amount of revenue for a school's patents
• Contact targets and enter into negotiations to maximize revenue without the need for litigation
• Identify appropriate litigation funders if it becomes necessary and funding is desired
• Handle all aspects of litigation, should it become necessary
CONTACT US
Paul Lannon Partner | Boston
+1.617.573.5842
paul.lannon@hklaw.com
Miriam McKendall Partner | Boston
+1.617.573.5846
miriam.mckendall@hklaw.com
Joshua Bosin
Partner | Atlanta
+1.404.817.8558
joshua.bosin@hklaw.com