AOL sells patents to Microsoft.
Why?
The reasons for AOL selling these patents are pretty clear:
Shares of AOL surged as much as 45% Monday, hitting their highest point in nearly 1 1/2 years, because the company pledged to return a “significant portion” of the sale proceeds to shareholders.
Under the agreement announced Monday, AOL also received a license to the patents being sold to Microsoft.
What does this have to do with pharma and biotech?
Perhaps nothing, but it certainly makes us wonder about unused patents sitting within biotech and pharma companies. Could they be a source of cash for re-investment in development projects or marketing?
Possibly.
Part of the reason we have a relationship with a well-established IP brokerage firm is to help our clients divest their patents.
Importantly, the AOL-MSFT transaction has a license back to AOL, so AOL retains access to these assets, while also monetizing them.
Clever.
Does your company have patents that are dying on the vine? Perhaps it’s a formulation patent? Or a process patent? Take a look. You may uncover some real gems there!