Why Startups Should Pay Attention To Skyrocketing Patent Prices

As large companies increasingly look to protect their revenue streams through IP risk mitigation, startups with strong patent holdings will become increasingly valuable because they provide an opportunity to remove dual potential threats to the potential acquirer?s revenue stream -- as a competitor and as a patent threat. Startups that are able to position themselves as part of an acquirer?s IP risk mitigation strategy make themselves more attractive targets for acquisition. For example, Twitter acquired Tweetie days after Tweetie filed for a patent application on the pull down to refresh feature and Google recently acquired Apture and Katango, two small startups with multiple pending patent applications relevant to Google?s businesses. Although some have described these deals as talent acquisitions, the value presented by the associated IP to the acquirer should not be ignored.

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