AST Announces IP3 2018 Results

Fixed Price, Fixed Term Patent Purchase Program Brings Leading Technology Companies Together to Purchase Assets for $3 Million  

 Princeton, New Jersey, January 23, 2019 – AST, the member-driven collaborative and leading provider of proactive patent defense solutions, today announced the results from IP3 2018, a fixed price, fixed term, collaborative patent buying program. IP3 2018 is the latest iteration of AST’s Industry Patent Purchase Program, which provides patent owners access to dozens of leading technology companies by streamlining the process of selling patents with a fixed price, rapid response model. IP3 2018 focused on soliciting patents from the following technology areas:

• Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning
• Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality
• Automotive / Transportation Services
• Blockchain
• Internet of Things / Connected Devices
• Smart Home
• Software / Web Services
• Wireless

Similar to previous IP3 programs, IP3 2018 attracted strong interest from both patent sellers and Members. Participants in IP3 2018 included 19 operating companies including Cisco, Google, Honda, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Philips, SAP, Uber and Verizon, with $3 million spent to acquire 32 patent families. Assets not acquired through IP3 2018 can still be purchased through AST’s standard buying process.

“IP3 2018 was our most successful iteration of our fixed price, fixed term patent purchase program to- date, with more participants, more capital committed from our Membership, and more patent families acquired,” said Russell W Binns, Jr., CEO of AST. “Our Membership, which includes many of the world’s leading technology companies, was very impressed with the wealth of this year’s submissions from patent owners and the results underscore the desire among our diverse group of Members to collaborate on fixed priced, fixed term buying programs that provide a quick and efficient process for purchasing patents.”

“AST’s third fixed price patent purchase program, IP3 2018, built on the experiences of AST’s two previous fixed price programs. The result was an even more efficient and cost effective way to close patent transactions,” said Andy Wojnicki, Director, Patent Strategy & Defense, IBM. “Transaction ease and cycle time, breadth of patents available to transact, and haggle-free terms and pricing are some of the key advantages of the IP3 approach.”

Results Summary

• Purchased Deals
  • 31 deals acquired
    • 32 families, 47 U.S. Patents, 55 active assets
  • Ranged from $2,500 to $255,000
  • price per patent family – approx. $99k
    • (compared to $128k in IP3 2017, and $96k for IP3 2016)
  • 19 Members contributed to acquisitions
• AST closed all 31 deals before the year-end

Submission Stats

IP3 Submissions by Seller Submitted Categories

Software & Web Services was the leading seller submitted technology category for IP3 lots with 230 lots with 239 patent families. Blockchain had significant interest from Members but very few assets were received in the category. 19 out of 31 purchased lots are related to Software and Web Services category.

  Purchase Summary

• 31 AST Lots purchased in IP3 comprised 55 active patent filings in 32 families
  • 47 US Patents, 6 US Applications
  • 1 European and 1 Austrian Patent
• Average 1.7 assets per family compared to 3.6 in 2017 and 1.8 in 2016
  • 15 lots with single US patent, 6 lots with two US filings, 8 lots with 3 US filings
  • 2 lots – each with a single foreign patent
• 23 different sellers and 4 brokers
  • 21 out of 31 purchased deals are from Brokers/Intermediaries
  • Type of Sellers –
    • 16 lots from NPE/PHC
    • 7 lots from Individual Inventors
    • 5 lots from Practicing Entities
    • 2 lots from University and 1 from R&D Institute
  • 77% or 24 purchased lots were previously received by AST

 IP3 2019

 AST is currently reviewing IP3 2018’s process to determine necessary adjustments to the program. IP3 2019’s technology areas and submission timeframes will be decided in the coming months, but we expect to have a similar schedule to IP3 2018.

A more detailed results summary for IP3 2018 can be found here.

About AST

AST is member-driven cooperative and the leading provider of proactive patent mitigation solutions. We offer a highly efficient, cost-effective and proven method of mitigating the risk of patent assertions and litigation avoidance by enabling our Members to collectively purchase assets available on the secondary market. Because we are an independent, not-for-profit cooperative, we provide a trusted and fully transparent way for Members to analyze patent purchase opportunities including triage, evaluation and acquisition services. AST’s Members include top global companies from a wide range of industries including Cisco, Ford, Google, Honda, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Philips, SAP, Sony, Spotify, Uber and Verizon. For more information on AST please visit http://www.ast.com.

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