IPXI- A case study

'I am Shutruk Nahunte, King of An?han and Susa, Sovereign of the land of Elam. By the command of Inshushinak I destroyed Sippar, Took the Stele of Niran-Sin, and brought it back to Elam, where I erected it as an offering to my god, Inshushhinak.' — ?utruk-Nahunte, 1158 B.C.’

This quote stuck with me from the movie “The Emperor’s Club”. Kevin Kline makes the students read this inscription on a plaque above the door to the classroom to remind them that though Shutruk Nahunte spoke so highly of himself, he is not remembered today in any History textbook. Why?

Ambition without contribution.

I have been delving into the history of IP commercialization. To see who has done what before me and where are they. How did they succeed/fail?

In 2008 The Intellectual Property Exchange International Inc. It was launched with a view to enabling transparency, price discovery, efficiency, and liquidity of IP assets.

Most patent transactions happen behind closed doors. Further licensing negotiations are cost-intensive and take a long time to conclude. Valuation of the IP has more to do with the fees involved and lost time than the actual value of the IP. The situation has not changed.

IPXI?had a decent model where they either got appointed by the IP holder as the representative or bought the IP themselves. They then performed due diligence, checked for infringement, and came up with a valuation. The next step was to issue unit licensing rights (ULR) which were priced by means of Dutch Auction (a method of selling in which the price is reduced until a buyer is found)

The ULRs were issued to interested buyers and each ULR allowed for the manufacture and sale of one item.

IPXI had bitten off more than they could chew.

? The first hurdle was the mindset of the community

? IP is still not viewed as an asset by most people.

? Licensees refused to engage in negotiations unless faced with potential legal action.

? Companies still went for closed innovation model (in house R&D) as opposed to the open innovation model

? Valuation of the IP at the time of issue of the ULR is not the same as the value of the IP after say 5000 ULRs have been issued and spent. The valuation is much higher and the initial bidder now has no means of buying more ULRs.

? NPE (Nonperforming Entities) or trolls could buy all the ULR issued at the first step and threaten action against further use of the patented technology.

?IPXI failed after 2 years of trying.

Patented Network is trying to do something others have tried and failed before. We may fail. Then again, we may not. Then again, we may end up solving some different problem altogether.

We are not Shutruk Nahunte. We are Patented Network.

Contribution fuelled by ambition ? ?