JGR Acquisition, Inc. to acquire Commerce One patents for $15.5 million

Ocean Tomo, the investment banker for Commerce One, had approached about 50 companies concerning the patent auction which was held in conjunction with the bankruptcy of Commerce One. Eight finalists agreed to bid at least $1 million for the licenses; two of the eight were public companies whose identity was not disclosed and who dropped out of the bidding at later stages.

JGR Acquisitions topped the bidding for the 39 patents [eWeek: 7 issued patents/32 patent applications] at $15.5 million. If JGR is unable to close the deal, Brissac Electronic Holdings can buy the patents for $14.9 million. ThinkFire Services was also one of the bidders.

As noted in an earlier post, how the licensing and/or litigation of these Commerce One patents plays out in the post-auction situation has relevance to discussions of rational ignorance or optimal ignorance at the USPTO.