This blog post discusses the different types of NPEs. Again, A non-practicing entity
(NPE) holds
a patent for a product or process but has no intentions of developing it. Basically an NPE is any entity that earns or plans to
earn the majority of its revenue from the licensing or enforcement of its
patents. Every NPE is quite different and
have different motivations behind it.
1. Do not
have resources or interest in pursuing ideas!
Some inventors choose not to pursue the development,
manufacturing, and sales of their inventions. They may lack the resources to do
so, or the interest, passion, and commitment that such an effort requires.
Instead, they may seek to license their inventions to others who can use them
to deliver better products and services, often with the assistance of those
with experience in this area. Or they may choose to sell the patents outright.
2. Want
return on their investment!
Some companies invest in research, development and commercialization
for a number of years, but fail to achieve adequate sales to sustain their
business. Facing this, they begin to seek a return on their investment through
the licensing of their intellectual property.
3. Actually buy
patents with the express purpose of licensing them aggressively!
During my research I found on PatentFreedom that about 25% of
“parent” NPEs tracked by PatentFreedom are enforcing only patents that they had
acquired. Another 60% are asserting patents originally assigned to them, and
the remaining 15% are asserting a blend of originally assigned and acquired
patents. However, if we add in the more than 2,100 subsidiaries and affiliates
of these entities and treat them all as standalone entities, we find that 19%
of them are originally assignees, and 69% are acquirers, and 12% are blends.
Regardless of the important variations in their origin and
behavior, NPEs present a fundamentally different challenge than operating
company patent assertions.
Vruti,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on another fantastic blog post! I love how clearly you outline each of your blog posts. It is clear that you had a very direct purpose in writing this. I like how in this post you gave the overarching reason to begin and then added in the detail after. I can see why some inventors may want to just sell their patent to a NPE if they do not have the resources. Overall, great post!!