Announcing IP3 2020 by AST - Collaborative Fixed Price, Fixed Term Patent Buying Program

NEW YORK, June 8, 2020 (Newswire.com) - AST will be launching its 5th edition of the Industry Patent Purchase Program - IP3 2020 in July 2020. IP3 connects patent sellers with AST’s Member companies that span across multiple industries.  These include companies such as ASSA ABLOY, Cisco, Dolby, Facebook, Ford, Google, Honda, IBM, Intel, Lyft, Microsoft, Oracle, Philips, SAP, Salesforce, Slack, ServiceNow, Sony, Spotify, Twitter, Uber and Verizon, among others. This exposure to some of the world’s largest leaders in technology provides sellers the opportunity to market their patents in the secondary market to a much broader audience than what they could find on their own. This is the fifth year that AST has offered this program with the goal of simplifying sellers’ access to the secondary market by eliminating some of the common hassles that may accompany this process.

Last year’s IP3 program proved to be the most successful fixed term patent purchase program to date, with more Participators, more capital committed from its Membership, and more patent families acquired. IP3 2019 attracted strong interest from both patent sellers and Members, with nearly twice as many patent portfolios compared to 2018.  We had increased participation from our Operating Companies with 24 Members collaborating on purchases and nearly $5 million spent to acquire 53 patent families.

Based on the previous IP3 programs and feedback from its Memberships, this year’s program will solicit patents for sale at a fixed price from an extensive group of technology areas. For IP3 2020, we have expanded the list of technology areas of focused interest to now include Industrial & Manufacturing and Retail & E-commerce. The 16 categories can be found below:

• Advertising & Content Distribution
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML)
• Augmented (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR)
• Automotive & Mobility
• Blockchain & Financial Services
• Cloud Computing & Web Services
• Computer Software & Hardware
• Health Tech & Healthcare IT
• Industrial & Manufacturing
• Internet of Things (IoT) & Smart Home
• LED Lighting & Optoelectronics
• ​Location-Based Services (LBS) / Navigation
• Medical Devices & Imaging
• Retail & E-commerce
• Semiconductor Manufacturing & Equipment
• Wireless & Telecommunication

Also continuing in 2020, the portfolios are listed on a non-exclusive basis until the final phase of IP3 2020.  This means that patent sellers may continue to market their offerings during the IP3 program.

“We are excited to launch our fifth IP3 program during these difficult times, especially coming off last year’s success which demonstrated the strong desire from both patent sellers and buyers to participate in these collaborative, fixed priced, fixed term patent purchase programs,” said Russell W. Binns, Jr., CEO of AST. “Our Members were pleased with the variety of submissions we received last year, where more than half of our Membership participated in the program. We are looking to continue the success of providing defensive patent protection for our Members and offering a more liquid secondary market for sellers.  IP3 presents both our Members and the patent seller community with exciting opportunities, and we are looking forward to seeing this year’s submissions in July.”

Binns added: “We often hear from our Members, which are some of the largest technology companies in the world, that having the opportunity to participate in programs like IP3 provides a unique opportunity to take advantage of group thinking and the wisdom of the crowd when it comes to purchasing patents, and makes for an efficient, productive buying experience. Because of this, we continue to evolve the IP3 program according to Member and seller feedback. We want to be certain that we are providing an easy, fast and efficient process that benefits both our Members’ businesses and the patent seller community.”

How to Submit Patents for Sale

Patent sellers and brokers are welcome to submit their patents for sale at a price they set via the AST IP3 portal: www.ast.com/IP3 from July 6 through July 17, 2020. Sellers need to only identify the patent family and fixed price at which they are willing to transact. Sellers may submit supporting documents such as marketing material, evidence of use, etc. Each submission should contain only related assets, and a preference will be made for single-family submissions or with related families.

Sellers who already submitted their patents to AST’s Standard Patent Acquisitions Program, where the price is negotiable, can also participate in IP3 2020 by contacting ip3@ast.com.

At the end of the submission period, AST and its Members will review all the submissions and let the submitters know whether there is interest in a purchase by September 29, 2020, if not sooner. It is anticipated that all transactions and payments will be completed by the end of 2020. From the time patents are submitted to September 20, submitters must let us know if their offering is sold and no longer available or encumbered. Beginning September 21 for the Exclusivity Period, submitters must sell to IP3 if their price is met and they are notified of an intent to purchase by September 29, 2020.

To obtain more information about IP3 2020 and all pertinent IP3 documents, such as the submission form, applicable patent assignment agreement, terms and conditions, and FAQ, please visit www.ast.com/IP3.

About AST

AST began as an experiment by a handful of our nation’s biggest tech leaders who sought a more effective way to combat unwanted patent assertions and litigation. The result was AST, a thoroughly groundbreaking Member-driven cooperative where representatives from various industries could work together to mitigate risk and promote a better functioning IP marketplace. Today our mission is more significant than ever, and AST now includes Member companies from across multiple industries including information technology, software, semiconductors, communications, automotive, health tech, and social media. AST is an independent, not-for-profit cooperative, that provides a trusted and fully transparent way for Members to analyze patent purchase opportunities including triage, evaluation and acquisition services. Throughout its tenure, AST has consistently developed and provided innovative solutions to further benefit its Members.  Its comprehensive analysis on litigation and reassignments, bankruptcy services, and new iterations of fAST IP, its Member-analytics platform, are all examples of AST’s commitment to keeping with its innovative origins. 

http://www.ast.com

+1-609-288-AST1
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Member Services: member_services@ast.com
Patent Sales: patent_sales@ast.com

Source: AST - Allied Security Trust