If recent news is any indicator, patents are extremely valuable assets! During 2011, Nortel Networks Corporation sold 6,000 patents for $4.5 billion to a technology consortium that included Apple, Microsoft and RIM. Shortly thereafter, Google bought, in one of the largest patent deals in history, more than 24,000 patents and patent applications from Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. Since 2011, IBM has sold more than 2,000 patents to Google for an undisclosed price. And now, Kodak, under the mandate of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, is trying to sell 1,100 of its patents for $3 billion.
Monetizing Intangible Assets
Once the knowledge base of an intangible assets has become formalized and is successfully deployed in a strategic manner, it is posible for that asset to be "monetized." Strategic deployment creates an effect which drive the market capitalization or valuation of an enterprise, thus bringing about its "monetization." "Monetization" further referes to the use of intangible assets such as a brand or intellectual property in a financial transaction.
As the knowledge-based economy expands, the companies and individuals that possess intangible intellectual assets, such as intellectual property, will need specialized expertise, strategic thinking, legal experience, and the wisdom necessary to manage intellectual assets.