Selling Kodak's patents
On Kodak patents from WHAM-13:
Rochester, N.Y. --- Look at your cell phone just as you’re about to take a photo or shoot a video clip. That image on the screen? That could be the result of dozens of Kodak-owned patents. It is an everyday example of the intellectual property that Kodak’s patent portfolio could include.
Kodak has filed many lawsuits in recent years in an attempt to defend its patents and win licensing or settlement deals with companies that could be mass producing a popular product (see: your cell phone or smart phone) that depends on these patents.
Last year Kodak put a “For Sale Sign” out in front of just 10 percent of its patent portfolio; about 1,100 patents in all. Analysts speculated that a buyer would pay more than $1 billion for them!
Now consider what’s in the patent portfolio. Some of the patents may be technology that is already in use by all sorts of companies in all sorts of products. (see: Lawsuits!) As one may expect, some of those patents may be worth nothing at all. Still others could be worth millions if not tens or hundreds of millions if they land in the hands of the right engineers and entrepreneurs.
Rochester, N.Y. --- Look at your cell phone just as you’re about to take a photo or shoot a video clip. That image on the screen? That could be the result of dozens of Kodak-owned patents. It is an everyday example of the intellectual property that Kodak’s patent portfolio could include.
Kodak has filed many lawsuits in recent years in an attempt to defend its patents and win licensing or settlement deals with companies that could be mass producing a popular product (see: your cell phone or smart phone) that depends on these patents.
Last year Kodak put a “For Sale Sign” out in front of just 10 percent of its patent portfolio; about 1,100 patents in all. Analysts speculated that a buyer would pay more than $1 billion for them!
Now consider what’s in the patent portfolio. Some of the patents may be technology that is already in use by all sorts of companies in all sorts of products. (see: Lawsuits!) As one may expect, some of those patents may be worth nothing at all. Still others could be worth millions if not tens or hundreds of millions if they land in the hands of the right engineers and entrepreneurs.
posted by Lawrence B. Ebert at 9:35 PM
1 Comments:
The case of Kodak shows the increasing importance of patent enforcement. Though some in the anti-IP crowd seem to feel as if any form of patent litigation is evil, it's worth noting that a major institution like Kodak splintered due in part to its failure to timely and effectively enforce its IP rights.
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