Are you an inventor looking for a way to monetize your patented idea? Follow me as we discuss various companies that buy patents or offers a platform for the same.

8 Companies That Buy Patents: Make Money with IP

More often than not, new inventors find themselves in situations where they want to sell their ideas. Mostly, this is because they have come up with great ideas, but they can’t bring these ideas to fruition due to the lack of capital. Well, we will explore deeper into various companies that buy patents so as to give you a wider scope when you think of selling a patent.

Many people have great inventions but can’t make money out of them. And for this reason, this list of companies that sell patents intends to show you just how you can make money with that idea you have.

Finding an ideal market place to sell your patent can sometimes be very frustrating. This is because there are numerous companies and sites that offer these services, and thus, identifying the right one can be really tiresome. You don’t want to go through every site reading through their pros and cons.

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Therefore, that’s why I have prepared this comprehensive list for you so that it can make that journey easier for you

However, before we go any further, it prudent that first explain what a patent is, so that we may get even more clarity.

What is a Patent?

When we talk about a patent, this is a form of a license that gives the owner of the intellectual property, exclusive legal rights to exclude any other party from executing, selling or using an invention.

The license is given for a particular period under the condition that it will be published to enable public disclosure of such an invention.

Since, in many countries, intellectual property rights fall under civil law, the patent holder has the right to sue anyone who infringes the patent.

This means that principally, the patent holder reserves the right to protect the patented invention from commercially exploited by other parties.

So, which are these marketplaces or companies that sell patents?

Free Patent Marketplaces

Here are some free places to list patents or intellectual property for sale.

IP Marketplace

The first company or market place in our free list is the IP Marketplace. This site was established in 2007 and under the management of the “Danish Patent and Trademark Office.” IP Marketplace does not in itself buy the patent but rather offers a market place where the inventors can list their patents for selling.

The site also allows for the listing of patent applications, utility models, designs, as well as trademarks. Through the site, the patent owner gets a chance to list their patents while the companies that want to buy patents, gets to see the available patents in the market.

With their newly relaunched website, IP Marketplace provides extensive filtering that enables the users to easily find patents, as well as any other form IP.

A user can identify an IP from a specific technology category specified in which country its valid and offered under certain terms of a specific corporation agreement.

However, just like many other websites, this one also has one drawback. That is, the various categories are sometimes poorly selected or inappropriately named. For example, instead of the site listing the main technology groups as categories to allow users to choose from there, their categories are limited to few clusters.

These include the following:

Food Tech, Biotech, Information Technology (IT), Art & Crafts, Machines, Pharma, and a variety of others.

One major advantage of the site is that it has an IP-evaluating tool. This helps patent owners to determine the value of their IP (Patent, Design, or Trademark).

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Patentauction.com

Formerly established as Freepatentauction.com in 2004, Patentauction.com is another great marketplace for listing your IP. It is one of the well-known legit marketplaces, and that is totally free to list your Intellectual Property.

This site is regularly updated with various inventions and patents, with its only drawback being limited patent categories. This makes many patents to fall under the “other” category, as they don’t fit in any of the listed categories.

Patentauction.com is very popular with inventors, although that one drawback makes it not so convenient for new searchers. However, once the buyer identifies their ideal patent, the rest of the process becomes quite straightforward.

The seller is contacted directly through the messaging board for negotiation talks.

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Inpama.com

Inpama.com, like many other companies providing IP-selling services, is an international marketplace that offers a free platform for sellers and buyers of Patents to connect. The platform provides a guide for the inventors, which helps them to sell their patents quickly.

The only drawback is that the site doesn’t have massive listings for patented inventions. This makes it not as popular with both sellers and buyers, like other marketplaces.

Negotiations here can take place either on their online portal or offline. Also, there are no undisclosed charges either for buyers or sellers.

Idea Buyer

Idea Buyer is another great marketplace where you can list your patent for sale as an inventor. Founded in 2007, the company offers a platform where patent owners can list their patents, as well as other IP inventions for free.

The only rule here is that you must register before being allowed to transact, whether it’s a buyer or a seller. Negotiation here is done offline, and there are no undisclosed commissions or fees.

See Related: What to do with an Invention Idea

Best Paid Marketplaces

IAM Market

This is one of the unique patent listing marketplaces that can be categorized both as free and paid-for-sites. IAM Market is entirely free for IP buyers, while it charges a listing fee to sellers.

This platform offers a suitable marketplace for IP owners, whereby they to list their IP sales, as well as their licensing operations and technology transfer programs.

If you want to buy, sell, or license IP/technology, then IAM Market is an excellent marketplace to work with. The website connects individuals who understand the commercial value of various Intellectual Properties and wish to work together.

The advantages of using IAM Market include:

Registration is free

Offers an extensive list of patents

Guarantees genuine buyers and sellers

You have the option of remaining anonymous until you decide to show you identity

No undisclosed charges or commissions

Although it’s not free for sellers, it is an excellent platform that gives you a chance to present your patented inventions to genuine and interested people.

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IP Nexus

If you have any questions on IP commercialization or any other IP related matters, IP Nexus is the best platform for you. This company’s aim is to provide IP information and services to startups simply and affordably.

The company collaborates with various parties, including the inventors, research institutions, and universities, to identify potential inventions in their early stages and offer commercial guidance. It acts as a forum whereby users can get professional answers.

Also, the platform acts as a marketplace for Intellectual property whereby individuals can list their IP patented inventions. At the time of this piece, the company offers the buyer an opportunity to search for over 100,000 listed patents and other IPs.

Therefore, I would recommend that you take a look at this marketplace. Whether you want to list a patent, or are looking to buy one.

Licentix

If you are looking for a company that guarantees you value for your money, Licentix is the company for you. Most of their services, including registration, listing, access to search tools, and appointing agents that monitor your desired IP, are free.

Also, the platforms offer a tool that helps to automatically produce a list of potential buyers for your patent for free. Sounds cool, right! They provide all features available in a free marketplace platform. However, they, in addition, offer a DirectInvite feature.

The feature is meant to give you an opportunity to place your patent in the eyes of the ideal buyers. Through this feature, a patent owner can include a list of certain companies that they wish to present their patent to.

The feature ensures that you receive feedback from these companies, if not an upright offer. However, each DirectInvite credit costs you around $89.

This credit allows you to contact the IP managers you choose. Even better, for every listing, you are given three free credits.

IdeaConnection

Idea Connection is a free marketplace for buyers, but a paid marketplace for sellers. Everything from registration to contacting the seller is free for the buyer.

However, for the seller, you have to pay the price of $49.95 to list your patented invention or any other form of IP.

The site allows you, as the seller, to list your patent for a period of two years. It also offers a link t the website, as well as notification to subscribers.

IdeaConnection model also allows someone to become a patent broker, whereby you can negotiate a deal between a seller and a buyer to earn a commission.

The advantage of this site is that it is both a buyer and a seller-friendly site. It also offers a massive technology listing.

Therefore, if you were wondering where you can find companies that buy patents, these are some of the most incredible sites you can visit.

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How to Sell a Patent to a Big Company

Here are some things to consider if you want to sell your patent to a big company.

Requirements

Once you find a company that has an interest in your patent, how do you conduct the negotiations? How do you close that deal, especially with a big company? Here is how you go about it.

Big companies will, in most cases, make a purchase only if you can prove to them that they can easily secure the patent.

Therefore, you ought to prepare facts about similar products in the market: information that is relevant in the application of patent and that show whether your idea works as a utility or design patent.

Also, you should create a prototype in case your idea is a tangible product. If the patent idea involves a process, then you should build a three-dimensional plan.

For a product, you should ensure that the prototype is built in the same dimensions and materials, as well as processes that are as close as possible to the product’s final manufacturing standards.

A product prototype ought to work in the same way the final product would do. This allows the buyers to judge the advantages and disadvantages of the product adequately.

Presentation

This is the most important part of all. The way you present and what your present matters a lot. For this reason, prepare a professional piece of presentation that is not only appealing, but that also shows the company how your idea is beneficial to them and their customers.

You should tailor the presentation to fit the needs and goals of that company.

One thing you should note is that, the more the company deems your patent idea beneficial to them, the more likely they are to buy it.

When presenting your patent idea, you should do this in a brief but persuasive session. It is very important to demonstrate the prototype, showing them its benefits to them and tackle the financial section as well.

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How Much Do Patents Sell For?

Numerous inventors and patent owners have greatly profited from the proceeds they get patent sales. But, exactly how much does a patent cost? Well, based on the type of technology and invention, among other factors, the price of a patent might vary significantly.

According to research, if an investor owns a patent for an article and sells it through one retail store at minimum, there is a high possibility of corporate interest.

In most cases, vendors will report new products that they see when they visit a retail store, which in turn will amount to corporate interest.

In the event that an offer is made by the corporation, the patent can sell anywhere between $50k to $8 million or even higher.

However, an inventor who tries to market a patented idea to corporations can get anything between $5,000 and $35,000. Also, if a company intends to use your patent to produce products, it may opt to license your patent instead of buying it.

Through this option, you might get a royalty rate of about $2 million guaranteed per year plus a bonus that depends on sales.

Royalty agreement can usually run for two years but can sometimes be longer.

See Related: List of Companies that Buy Invention Ideas

Conclusion on Companies That Buy Patents

If you have a patented idea and you lack the money to implement it, you don’t have to worry. There are numerous companies that buy patents or that offer platforms where you can meet potential buyers.

Therefore, you can easily monetize your patent and make some good money from it.

Do you have ideas on more companies where someone can sell their ideas or Intellectual Property? Feel free to share them with us.

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