Patent News Blog: A Patent Valuation Can Save You Time and Money

A Patent Valuation Can Save You Time and Money

A patent valuation is used to discover the value a patent can provide throughout the remainder of its patent protection. Patent valuations help an inventor and/or investors determine if the product they are funding has or will have market value. Not all patents guarantee a profit and you do not want to spend your time and money on a product that may not be marketable. A patent valuation also helps an inventor look credible when seeking financial backing. Investors like to know if they are putting their money into something solid and profitable for the future.

It is very important for companies that are thinking of merging or acquiring a company to have a patent valuation performed for the company they are merging or acquiring. It will determine the different aspects of a patent portfolio and the fair market value of the patented products. The value of the patents could help or hurt the price of the company they are merging or acquiring depending on the patent value and how long is left for the patent protection.

There are several different things a patent valuation looks into:

First, you want to make sure the patent is not infringing upon another patent already out there. This could lead to future lawsuits. It could also make the patent invalid and can end up costing you time and money. You want to do a thorough patent search to see if there are any related patents or patents that could invalidate your patent before going further with the next steps of a patent valuation.

Second, the patent valuation looks at the patent scope. The patent should be clearly labeled and the technology clearly written. If a patent fails to have the technology thoroughly written out and claimed, any technology left out can become a part of public domain. The same goes for the drawings; if a piece, or parts, of the patent structure are not clearly labeled they are not protected under the patent. This allows competitors to swoop in and use the not protected technology , decreasing the value of a patent.

Finally, a patent valuation will determine if the patent you are acquiring will be profitable for the remaining years it is under protection. There are a certain number of years a patent is under protection. If you are merging or acquiring a patent that is close to its end date, the value can be exponentially decreased compared to the same patent with a full patent term. Once a patent's life term is over, the technology becomes part of the public domain.

An experienced team of patent agents, attorneys, patent researchers and/or certified patent valuation analysts can help you through the patent valuation process and help you determine whether or not merging or acquiring a patent is worth it.

Should you need assistance with a patent valuation please contact one of Noro IP's certified patent valuation analysts at 800-605-6993 or by emailing PatentSpecialist@NoroIP.com.

March 27, 2012

Category: Patents | Tags: patent search, patent valuation, patent valuation service, patent valuations

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