Financing a Patent Portfolio
Cramdowns, Receivership, Bankruptcy – why patent financing is good for founders and angels.
BlueIron’s patent financing puts your IP in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) – an LLC that holds your patents. It can be thought of as a lease with a buyout option – similar to leasing a car. Our contracts have a special provision called a Third Party Beneficiary Agreement. The Third Party Beneficiary Agreement allows…
Read MoreWhat Are The Costs To Enforce or Defend a Patent?
Two stages of litigation: claim construction and the trail. Post Grant Review (or Inter-Partes Review) Patent litigation can be very expensive, and the costs of litigation go up considerably with the amount of money at risk. The American Intellectual Property Lawyers Association publishes a bi-annual Economic Survey, which is the most comprehensive source of patent…
Read MoreInventions Where BlueIron Does NOT Invest
There are some inventions where BlueIron will NOT invest. I see an obnoxious number of inventions and patents from startups. I estimate that I encounter 10-20 inventions per week lately, and many are not good candidates for us to invest. It is heartbreaking to say “no” to inventors where the invention does not seem to…
Read MoreWhat Risk Is BlueIron Taking When Financing A Patent?
BlueIron is taking several risks when financing a patent. BlueIron is taking the risk that the patent will even issue. BlueIron is making an investment in researching the invention, writing the patent, and getting the patent through the patent office. If BlueIron fails to get a patent, you can walk away from the deal at…
Read MoreBlueIron is Changing the Legal Industry
BlueIron was formed in response to a weakness in the way patents are prepared. My personal experience was that I needed a patent attorney’s advice and experience – and I paid for it – but he had continually refused to give it to me. It wasn’t until after I took the patent bar and began…
Read MoreLoans for Your Patents
Yes, you can borrow against your patents. BlueIron can provide loans of $2-60M using only your patents as collateral. Your company is based on your creative ideas, which you have protected with your patents. But if those patents have value, can I loan against them? Yes, you can! BlueIron has an insurance product – similar…
Read MoreInvestment Grade Patents Do Not Have “Broad Claims”
Broad patents can hurt you. Inventors like to think that their patents are “broad” and somehow that is good. It is not. The risks with broad patents are that they are more easily invalidated, but it is also a sales pitch that patent attorneys use to make more money. Narrow patents are bad, too. Narrow…
Read MoreFinancing Patents Is Actually CHEAPER Than Paying a Patent Attorney
Financing patents through BlueIron is actually cheaper than paying as you go with a conventional patent attorney. This is because the cost of capital for startup companies is so high. Pepperdine’s business school publishes the annual Private Capital Markets Report, which shows that the average cost of capital for Angel or VC funded companies in…
Read MoreShould I Get A Patent Before Talking To Customers?
No. As an investor in patents, I am willing to wait for the Second Patent. BTW, if you need to tell someone your invention when you are doing customer discovery, you are doing it wrong. In my business of financing patents for startup companies, I am usually willing to pass on the First Patent for…
Read MoreHow Much Does A Patent Cost?
In this post, we look at a lot of things regarding patent costs: What are the basic patent costs? What are the costs to just file a patent? Is micro entity worth it? Is a provisional patent application cheaper? (NO!) What are the costs for software patents? What can affect patent costs? What does it…
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