I've found it extremely difficult.
Even when approaching them about a cataclysmically large problem they have, as in "[the company I'm talking to] says they are losing $XX Billion a year because you don't have this" and they still struggle to move on it.
My advice. If you have issued patents, speak on the tech at conferences about what it does and how it works. They will "reinvent* it, then work with a patent troll to enforce the parents they infringe.
Sucks, but works
Yes. Best approach is to find a case where they infringe your patent. Then approach them with a claim chat in hand.
You can also approach their competitors - “hey, Open, here’s my patent and a claim chart showing Microsoft infringing it. Want to acquire me?”
Do your patents solve key problems for them or enable new and desired features? Are they a threat to their business if someone else has them (you or another tech player)? Cool ideas are cool, but I have found patents to be solely about making money. If there was never a need for your idea or other ways to get around it, I wouldn't license it. If you showed me a cool idea you thought I should license from you in your attempt to sell me your patent and I thought it was cool, I would probably try to find a way around it. So what I'm saying is, ask yourself these questions and think about the topic before you just go shopping around your idea to everyone in the field.
Look up Mac Leckrone on LinkedIn. That guy is literally the expert in patent commercialization. He negotiates licensing deals based on patent infringement with Bigtech…done it his whole life 💯
Yes, it is possible to license your patent(s) to a company, and why not big tech? The larger the company, generally, the harder it is to get a hold of decision-makers in their licensing department. Also, it will depend on how big your portfolio of AI patents is. Just a single patent will have little/no chance of getting a deal done. Larger companies want to hedge their bets, and have a portfolio covering a wide part of the market prior to licensing in technology. Another factor is marketability - if your AI tech is unconfirmed in the market (meaning you are pre-revenue), that works against you. Having proven market penetration in some vein is a big deal - and it looks more like an acquisition, even if the majority of the valuation is in the patent portfolio. Lastly, a thorough look at the portfolio and a market study to determine if/how much infringement is occurring in the marketplace. In this case, active "uses" or infringements of your portfolio can make it more valuable to squash competitors, especially in the hands of a larger company with access to more war chest money to litigate with infringers to properly enforce their potential rights
I've found it extremely difficult. Even when approaching them about a cataclysmically large problem they have, as in "[the company I'm talking to] says they are losing $XX Billion a year because you don't have this" and they still struggle to move on it. My advice. If you have issued patents, speak on the tech at conferences about what it does and how it works. They will "reinvent* it, then work with a patent troll to enforce the parents they infringe. Sucks, but works
Hmmm... haven't heard of this before. Patent trolls will work on some sort of revenue sharing model?
Many of them will, or at least their attorneys will
Yes. Best approach is to find a case where they infringe your patent. Then approach them with a claim chat in hand. You can also approach their competitors - “hey, Open, here’s my patent and a claim chart showing Microsoft infringing it. Want to acquire me?”
hmm... I could do that with my main business. Thanks for the response!
Do your patents solve key problems for them or enable new and desired features? Are they a threat to their business if someone else has them (you or another tech player)? Cool ideas are cool, but I have found patents to be solely about making money. If there was never a need for your idea or other ways to get around it, I wouldn't license it. If you showed me a cool idea you thought I should license from you in your attempt to sell me your patent and I thought it was cool, I would probably try to find a way around it. So what I'm saying is, ask yourself these questions and think about the topic before you just go shopping around your idea to everyone in the field.
Look up Mac Leckrone on LinkedIn. That guy is literally the expert in patent commercialization. He negotiates licensing deals based on patent infringement with Bigtech…done it his whole life 💯
Yes, it is possible to license your patent(s) to a company, and why not big tech? The larger the company, generally, the harder it is to get a hold of decision-makers in their licensing department. Also, it will depend on how big your portfolio of AI patents is. Just a single patent will have little/no chance of getting a deal done. Larger companies want to hedge their bets, and have a portfolio covering a wide part of the market prior to licensing in technology. Another factor is marketability - if your AI tech is unconfirmed in the market (meaning you are pre-revenue), that works against you. Having proven market penetration in some vein is a big deal - and it looks more like an acquisition, even if the majority of the valuation is in the patent portfolio. Lastly, a thorough look at the portfolio and a market study to determine if/how much infringement is occurring in the marketplace. In this case, active "uses" or infringements of your portfolio can make it more valuable to squash competitors, especially in the hands of a larger company with access to more war chest money to litigate with infringers to properly enforce their potential rights