System and method of licensing intellectual property assets

• US 20070073625A1
• Filed: 09/27/2005
• Published: 03/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Robert Shelton
• Original Assignee: Robert Shelton
• Inventors: Shelton, Robert
• Application Number:
  US11/235,908
• Publication Number:
  US 20070073625A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 90/00 Systems or methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial or supervisory purposes, not involving significant data processing

Abstract

This disclosure provides an improved system and method of licensing intellectual property rights. This disclosure relates to intellectual property licensing arrangements involving a plurality of patents or other intellectual property assets that may be licensed by or on behalf of the owner(s) to one or more entities, and in which a system and method is provided for assembling a portfolio of assets that are complementary in nature; negotiating royalties with prospective licensees who are users or prospective users of all or some portion of that complementary asset portfolio; and allocating among the owners of the assets comprising such portfolio the royalty revenue thereby earned in consideration of granting certain enumerated rights in, to and under those intellectual property assets, in whole or in part, to such one or more licensees.

Claims

1. A patent pooling method implemented by a computer-based system, comprising the steps of:

forming a patent pool in the computer-based system, including two or more patents;

licensing collectively said patents to at least one licensee; and

allocating earnings of said patent pool among owners of said patents according to a predetermined formula that includes consideration of forward citation analysis.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein all of the patents included in said patent pool are essential patents.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein none of the patents included in said patent pool is an essential patent.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the patents in said patent pool consist of both essential and non-essential patents.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing for regulatory oversight to the patent pool.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said regulatory oversight concerns compliance with one or more antitrust regulations.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said providing for regulatory oversight includes permitting access to said computer-based system for monitoring communications of said licensees and/or patent owners.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said allocating on the basis of forward citation analysis is dynamic.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

establishing an appeals process that may be initiated by a member of said patent pool.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

communicating to members of said patent pool one or more alternative allocations of earnings of said patent pool.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

permitting one or more of said patent owners to vote on the appropriate allocation of earnings of the patent pool.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

calculating relevance scores for the patents in the patent pool.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of:

calculating a local score value for at least two of the patents in the patent pool; and

refining relevance scores for the patents in the patent pool based on said local score values.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

calculating a local score value for at least two of the patents in the patent pool; and

refining an allocation of earnings for the patents in the patent pool based on said local score values.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

permitting said licensee to designate patents in said patent pool as substitutes.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of:

adjusting an allocation of earnings of said patent pool among the owners of said patents on the basis of the designation of patents in said patent pool as substitutes.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

permitting said licensee to cause one or more patents to be selectively removed from the license to said patent pool.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of:

adjusting a royalty paid by said licensee on the basis of patents selectively removed from the license to said patent pool.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of:

adjusting an allocation of earnings paid on the basis of the adjustment of royalties following selective removal of one or more patents from the license to said patent pool.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

permitting owners of any patent in said patent pool to designate one or more patents as blocking one or more other patents.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of:

adjusting the allocation of earnings of said patent pool among the owners of said patents on the basis of the designation of patents in said patent pool as blocking.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein said computer-based system includes a computer program comprising computer-executable instructions represented in computer storage.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein said computer-based system includes a server that provides patent licensing-specific information to one or more users of said system.

24. A patent pooling method implemented by a computer-based system, comprising the steps of:

forming a patent pool in the computer-based system, including two or more patents;

licensing collectively said patents to at least one licensee; and

allocating earnings of said patent pool among owners of said patents according to a predetermined formula that includes consideration of backward citation analysis.

25. A patent pooling method implemented by a computer-based system, comprising the steps of:

forming a patent pool in the computer-based system, including two or more patents;

offering a collective license on said patents to at least one prospective licensee;

permitting one or more prospective licensee to designate patents in said patent pool as substitutes; and

adjusting a royalty paid by one or more prospective licensee of the basis of patents selectively removed from the license to said patent pool.

26. A patent pooling method implemented by a computer-based system, comprising the steps of:

forming a patent pool in the computer-based system, including two or more patents;

entering into a license covering some portion or all of said patents with at least one licensee;

permitting said patent owners to designate one or more patents in said patent pool that block other patents; and

adjusting an allocation of earnings of said pool among the owners of said patents on the basis of said designation.

27. A system for patent pooling, comprising:

(a) at least one CPU having a processor configured to execute patent pool management and/or royalty allocation functions;

(b) means for communicating with owners of two or more patents concerning formation of a patent pool and collectively licensing rights under said patents to at least one licensee;

(c) means for allocating earnings of said patent pool among the owners of said patents on the basis of a formula that takes into account one or more factors including forward citation analysis.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein all of the patents included in said patent pool are essential patents.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein none of the patents included in said patent pool is an essential patent.

30. The system of claim 27, wherein the patents in said patent pool consist of both essential and non-essential patents.

31. The system of claim 27, further comprising:

means for providing for regulatory oversight to said patent pool.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein said regulatory oversight concerns compliance with one or more antitrust regulations.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein said means for providing of regulatory oversight includes permitting access to said computer-based system for monitoring communications of said licensees and/or patent owners.

34. The system of claim 27, wherein said means for allocating on the basis of forward citation analysis is dynamic.

35. The system of claim 27, further comprising:

means for a member of said patent pool to appeal said allocation of earnings.

36. The system of claim 27, further comprising the step of:

means for communicating to members of said patent pool one or more alternative allocations of earnings of said patent pool.

37. The system of claim 27, further comprising:

means for one or more of said patent owners to vote on the appropriate allocation of earnings of the patent pool.

38. The system of claim 27, further comprising:

means for calculating relevance scores for the patents in the patent pool.

39. The system of claim 38, further comprising:

means for calculating a local score value for at least two of the patents in the patent pool; and

means for refining relevance scores for the patents in the patent pool based on said local score values.

40. The system of claim 27, further comprising:

means for calculating a local score value for at least two of the patents in the patent pool; and

means for refining an allocation of earnings for the patents in the patent pool based on said local score values.

41. The system of claim 27, further comprising:

means for said at least one licensee to designate patents in said patent pool as substitutes.

42. The system of claim 41, further comprising:

means for adjusting an allocation of earnings of said patent pool among the owners of said patents on the basis of the designation of patents in said patent pool as substitutes.

43. The system of claim 27, further comprising:

means for said at least one licensee to cause one or more patents to be selectively removed from the license to said patent pool.

44. The system of claim 43, further comprising:

means for adjusting a royalty paid by said at least one licensee on the basis of patents selectively removed from the license to said patent pool.

45. The system of claim 44, further comprising:

means for adjusting an allocation of earnings paid on the basis of the adjustment of royalties following selective removal of one or more patents from the license to said patent pool.

46. The system of claim 27, further comprising:

means for an owner of any patent in said patent pool to designate one or more patents as blocking one or more other patents.

47. The system of claim 46, further comprising:

means for adjusting the allocation of earnings of said patent pool among the owners of said patents on the basis of the designation of patents in said patent pool as blocking.

48. A system for patent pooling, comprising:

(a) at least one CPU having a processor configured to execute patent pool management and/or royalty allocation functions;

(b) means for communicating with owners of two or more patents concerning formation of a patent pool and collectively licensing rights under said patents to at least one licensee; and

(c) means for allocating earnings of said patent pool among the owners of said patents on the basis of a formula that takes into account one or more factors including backward citation analysis.

49. A system for patent pooling, comprising:

(a) at least one CPU having a processor configured to execute patent pool management and/or royalty allocation functions;

(b) means for communicating with owners of two or more patents concerning formation of a patent pool and collectively licensing rights under said patents to at least one licensee;

(c) means for permitting one or more licensees to designate patents in said patent pool as substitutes;

(d) means for permitting one or more licensees to selectively remove one or more patents from the license to said patent pool; and

(e) means for adjusting the royalty paid by said one or more licensees on the basis of any patents selectively removed from said patent pool.

50. The system of claim 49, further comprising:

means for adjusting an allocation of earnings of said patent pool among the owners of said patents.

51. A system for patent pooling, comprising:

(a) at least one CPU having a processor configured to execute patent pool management and/or royalty allocation functions;

(b) means for communicating with owners of two or more patents concerning formation of a patent pool and collectively licensing rights under said patents to at least one licensee;

(c) means for permitting said patent owners to designate one or more patents in said patent pool as blocking one or more other patents; and

(d) means for adjusting the royalty paid by one or more licensees on the basis of any patents designated as blocking.

52. The system of claim 51, further comprising:

means for adjusting an allocation of earnings of said patent pool among the owners of said patents.