Patent rights, which are usually bought and sold in private transactions, are set to be publicly traded on a new exchange.
The Chicago-based exchange, Intellectual Property Exchange International, which says it is the first of its kind, has attracted a handful of blue-chip companies and prominent universities as its initial members.
One of those companies, Royal Philips Electronics, the Dutch electronics giant, is set to begin marketing the rights to a portfolio of more than 600 patent assets.
The Philips portfolio, to be announced in a pair of online presentations on Wednesday, is expected to raise around $35 million, although the exact figure could change.
Two more offerings, which are expected to be announced in the next four to six weeks, will be in the finance and automotive industries, according to Gerard J. Pannekoek, the President and Chief Executive of IPXI, as the exchange is known.
JPMorgan Chase and Ford Global Technologies, a unit of the Ford Motor Co., are among the exchange’s member-companies.
The product traded on the exchange is called a unit licence right, a contract that allows the holder to use the underlying technology a certain number of times.
The goal of the exchange, which was established in 2008, is to make the patent licensing marketplace more transparent, said Mr. Pannekoek, a former executive of the Chicago Climate Exchange.
The Intellectual Property Exchange International does due diligence on patent offerings, and plans to make a data room available to prospective buyers, which can include speculative investors and companies looking to use the technology. —
