When does it make sense to buy and sell patents to add to your portfolio?

Text Transcript

David Roberts, Intellectual Property Attorney: A question that we get from time to time is whether it’s the right time to either buy a piece or a whole patent portfolio or perhaps even sell a patent out of your portfolio. And as a company, it comes down to some strategy.

On the buy side, there’s issues of balancing and diversification. The first concept of balancing is where perhaps you’ve recognized a gap in your own technological portfolio and you see another patent owner with the assets that would fill that gap. The second thing in terms of diversification is when your company sees a new technological trend developing, and you haven’t necessarily made the investment in that sector yet. And actually for large companies, that can be the most cost-effective way to enter into new technological segments. That is, letting the competitors in that segment work itself out and then partnering with the right partner for your company.

The final point on selling is that it’s always a matter of timing and money. When is the money right and when is the time right to take risk off the table and perhaps move on to the next great idea.