North America

Patent monetisation firm Marathon Patent Group announced last week that it is buying over 300 patents from German tech giant Siemens. The deal looks to be one of the most significant publicly announced pure patent transactions between an NPE and an operating company in recent months.

The patent purchase agreement will see Marathon’s subsidiaries acquire two portfolios from Siemens and its affiliates.

In a transaction characteristic of today’s patent marketplace, Qualcomm announced this week that it has licensed its wireless charging technology for electric vehicles to automotive parts manufacturer Lear Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, Lear will include Qualcomm’s Halo wireless charging technology among its product offerings for clients including automotive manufacturers and vehicle-charging infrastructure companies.

US company Universal Display Corporation (UDC) has acquired a patent portfolio relating to organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology from Germany’s BASF for €87 million (approximately US$96 million). The deal shows that even in today’s tough climate, there is still appetite for high-value patent purchases if the right conditions exist.

One of the most frustrating things about the patent marketplace is its scarcity of information on price points. When a deal is publicly announced or reported in the press, it often lacks detail on just how much money has exchanged hands. Transacting parties have various reasons for withholding such information; and even if it were regularly made available, it is arguable what impact, if any, it would have on the pricing of patents more generally.