“Brokered Patents Are Not Junk—and the Reasons Will Surprise You.” Ågren et. al. IPWatchdog (January 2019)

Occasionally, we hear people say, “brokered patents are all junk.” This begs the question, “are operating companies and non-practicing entities (NPEs) spending hundreds of millions of dollars buying junk patents?” Luckily, the short answer is no. We know clients have successfully bought and used brokered patents to substantially alter their licensing and litigation posture at a lower cost than the alternatives. We also know that patents on the brokered market rank higher than average patents (See “Finding the Best Patents — Forward Citation Analysis Still Wins”, by Oliver, et al.). So why this disconnect? We are victims of our own cognitive biases and the behavioral economic traps that make it harder for buyers to find and buy patents.

 “Brokered Patents Are Not Junk—and the Reasons Will Surprise You.” Ågren et. al. IPWatchdog (January 2019), here.