Patents R Us: Information and Services for Inventors and Patent Owners
Financing for Infringed Patent Holders
When a patent owner realizes his patent is infringed and begins to consider the options, the risks can be daunting. Besides the fact that the infringer is likely to challenge the patent’s validity and keep the court case dragging on until the plaintiff runs out of money, there are other risks the patent owner would face in patent infringement litigation proceedings. And those risks are sometimes so unacceptable that the patent is left with no recourse against the infringer without the possibility of losing everything.
Enter IP Holdings LLC, an IP-centric merchant bank that provides financing for patent litigation – and, to sweeten the pot, assigns the infringed patent(s) to a limited liability company (LLC). Why is that necessary? If the patent is still assigned to the individual or company that owns it, the infringer can countersue that company or individual – which places the patent owner’s assets in jeopardy. An LLC shields the patent owner from that risk.
What’s in it for IP Holdings? IP Holdings receives an ownership interest in the LLC (as does the patent owner and other parties that assist in the litigation). IP Holdings finances the patent litigation, but doesn’t require any money up front from the patent owner. Instead, when the patent lawsuit is won or settled, all parties with an ownership interest in the LLC share in the proceeds.
IP Holdings also operates an idea incubator, providing funding for the development of new technologies, and runs a patent brokerage operation, IPOfferings, LLC.
IP Holdings currently has a number of portfolio companies in various fields of technology:
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Acticon Technologies LLC – Patents covering “smart cards” such as the PCMCIA cards used in laptop PCs. The patents are all expired now, but Acticon signed over 150 licensees with IP Holding’s help – big names such as Dell, IBM, 3Com, Motorola, Sony and many other well-known manufacturers of computers and computer parts.
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Advanced Card Technologies LLC – Patents related to gift cards, phone cards and customer loyalty cards. The company’s many licensees include the largest card issuers in the world!
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Advanced Video Technologies LLC – Owns a Full Duplex Single Chip Video Code patent used in camcorders. Licensees include Audiovox and Electro Flip.
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Digital Technology Licensing LLC – This LLC owns a patent for Adaptive Multi Rate Codec technology that permits backward compatibility in cell phones and Bluetooth devices. Among DTL’s licensees are hardware manufacturers such as Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, as well as cell phone carriers such as Cingular Wireless/AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile. Licensees also include headset manufacturer Plantronics and audio equipment OEM Sennheiser.
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Leighton Technologies LLC – Enforces patents related to the manufacturer of “smart” cards. Leighton’s patent portfolio has been licensed to HID Global and Oberthur Technologies.
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Ryogen LLC – A unit of IP Holdings’ idea incubator, Ryogen patents relate to genes with potential applications in biomedical research, diagnostics and drug development. Companies that have taken licenses under the Ryogen patents include Invitrogen, Origene Technologies and R&D Systems.
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IPOfferings LLC – This is IP Holdings’ patent brokerage business that helps patent owners find buyers for their patents, and helps manufacturers build patent portfolios.
IP Holdings was founded in 1990 by Dr. Alexander Poltorak who serves as the company’s Managing Director.