Monthly Archives: September 2024

　This is a continuation of the previous article. This is a continuation of the typical methods of monetizing patent rights.

5, Litigation and patent infringement warnings

　If another company infringes on your patent rights, you can warn the other company and claim damages by entering into a license agreement with them or by filing a lawsuit against them. However, litigation is time-consuming and expensive and should be done strategically.

6, Building and managing a patent portfolio

　By building a portfolio that combines multiple patent rights (which can include design rights, trademarks, etc.) and proceeding with licensing agreements based on this portfolio, profits can be maximized. Alternatively, the entire portfolio could be sold to a specific company.

7, Participation in patent pools and consortiums

　This is a way to earn licensing fees by participating in a patent pool or consortium and working with other patent holders to license technology to the market. This is particularly effective for patent rights related to standard technologies.

8, Partnering with investors and venture capitalists

　This is a way to monetize patent rights by launching a startup that utilizes the patented technology and obtaining funds from affiliated investors and venture capitalists. If successful, the business based on the patented technology has the potential to generate significant revenues.

9, Leverage tax strategies

　In some cases, tax incentives may be available through the use of patent rights. For example, by utilizing the patent box system (currently not established in Japan), a lower tax rate can be applied to earnings related to patent rights.

　As explained in the above two articles, the ways to monetize patent rights vary depending on the nature of the patent, the market situation, and the company’s strategy, and also vary depending on the country or region where the patent was acquired. By combining the above methods, it is possible to maximize the value of the patent rights (so-called intellectual property rights) acquired in each country.

　If you have any questions or need further advice, please contact us.
(Maruhachi)

　There are several possible strategies for businesses to monetize patent rights. Typical methods are listed below.

1, Licensing

　Exclusive license: this is a method of granting a patent right exclusively to a specific company for a license fee. This gives the company an advantage over other competitors.
　Non-exclusive license: a method of obtaining a broad license fee by granting a license to several companies at the same time. License fees tend to be lower than those for exclusive licenses, but it allows diversification of revenues.

2, Cross-licensing

　This is a strategy of exchanging patent rights with another company to make the technology owned by both parties mutually available. This reduces the payment of license fees and the risk of patent infringement and encourages the development of new technologies.

3, Commercialization

　This is a way of earning direct revenues by commercializing the patented technology in-house and offering it to the market as a product or service. This requires manufacturing, sales and marketing capabilities.
　Offering the product, service or business model covered by the patent right to the market on your own (e.g. by implementing the product on your own, using the method on your own) is an inherently basic and core way of implementing a patented invention (the traditional way of utilizing the patent system).
　Commercialization has the potential to maximize the value of the patent.

4, Sale of patent rights

　Selling the patent rights in a lump sum is a way of obtaining immediate capital. It is important to estimate the future value of the patent rights and sell them at an appropriate price. Possible sellers include other companies in the same industry, patent brokers or investors.

　These are some of the ways to monetize (utilize) patent rights, which will be continued in the next article.
(Maruhachi)