How to Sell a Patent
Selling a Patent
Wondering how to sell a patent? If you are a patent holder, there's a good chance that your patent is worth a lot of money to somebody out there. But how do you find a patent buyer?
Selling a patent is a tricky business.
Your patent is probably worth more to somebody else than it is to you, so you should be able to sell it for a nice price.
The key is to find a patent buyer. In fact, ideally, you'd like a number of interested patent buyers to bid against each other so you can maximize your returns on selling a patent.
Now, some people think that the Patent Office will help them sell a patent to another corporation or individual. This is not the case.
The Patent Office does, however, publish the Official Gazette, the official journal of the United States Patent and Technology Office (USPTO), and this is an excellent publication to market a patent for sale or a patent that is available for license.
The Official Gazette is published weekly on Tuesdays and patents can be listed for sale or licensing for a modest fee at the request of a patent owner.
If a patent is valuable, you can expect a number of responses from parties who are interested in buying your patent.
Another option is to directly market the patent on your own. You probably know who would be interested in your patent, right? You can reach out directly to them and see if they are interested in purchasing your patent.
You might also want to talk to companies that specialize in acquiring patents and licensing patents. For example, Acacia Research Corporation buys patents and patent portfolios. In some cases, they may not buy the patent outright. They might simply serve as your patent licensing company and split the patent licensing revenues with you, based on an agreed to sum in your inventors agreement.
This option, partnering with a patent licensing firm, should be seriously considered as it can sometimes be more lucrative than simply selling a patent to a single buyer.
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