How to monetize patents?
Suppose your company has developed a lot of patents to defend itself from being sued.
Company A is sued by company B for infringement of its patents. Company B's patents are invalidated by the prior art in your company's patents. Company A also infringes your patents.
Is there any way to monetize this on this situation without suing company A?
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Have you tried talking with your lawyer on that one? – Rafferty Pendery 13 years ago
2 Answers
Suing a company is what you do when you're trying to eliminate competition or as a last resort. It's much cheaper and indeed more profitable to collect royalties from company A. You'll want a lawyer involved to make sure the agreement will hold up in court, and to be available should the company decide not to negotiate with you and you're forced to sue.
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sometime you have to sue to get the other company to pay royalties - it is not just "a last resort" or to eliminate competition. – Tim J 13 years ago
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Tim how could it be anything but last resort? Meaning there isn't really a step to recoup financially from use of an owned patent after suing. – John Bogrand 13 years ago
IF Company A is defending itself then most likely that they know about any prior art there is out there. Follow that lawsuit - if your patents are indeed relevant prior art then most likely it will get mentioned in a court document (look for "invalidity contentions").
If that happens, go talk to a patent litigator about your options (make sure this is someone who has litigated patents).
Don't contact the other company. Too risky.
