AST Announces Results for IP3 2020 - Collaborative Patent Purchase Program

NEW YORK, March 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AST, the member-driven leading provider of proactive and collaborative patent defense solutions, today announced the results from IP3 2020, a fixed price, fixed term, collaborative patent buying program. IP3 2020 is the latest iteration of AST's Industry Patent Purchase Program (IP3), which provides patent owners access to dozens of leading technology companies by streamlining the process of selling patents with a fixed price, rapid response model.

Similar to previous IP3 programs, IP3 2020 attracted strong interest from both patent sellers and Members, with over 1,300 submissions and 18 Operating Companies collaborating on purchases. Participants in IP3 2020 included Cisco, Facebook, Google, Intel, Lyft, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Snap, Twitter, Uber, and Verizon, among others, with $2.85 million spent to acquire 31 patent families.

"We received a record number of over 1,300 submissions from 365 sellers for IP3 2020 and closed 29 deals amid budget constraints and other challenges caused by Covid-19. The demand for stream-lined collaborative patent purchases continues to be strong among our Members as well as brokers and sellers," said Russell W. Binns Jr., CEO of AST. "Our Membership, which includes many of the world's leading technology companies, continues to find IP3 to be an easy streamlined way to apply capital, make purchasing decisions, and acquire patent rights to mitigate risk. The IP3 program complements our standard purchasing process very well, as some deals are better situated for a fixed price program while others are more complicated and need more negotiations and different solutions."

Results Summary

• Purchased Deals
• 29 deals acquired
• 31 families, 58 U.S. Patents, 72 active assets
• 18 Members contributed to acquisitions
• Prices ranged from $8,000 to $395,000
• Average Price per deal - $98K
• Price per patent family - $95K
• Similar to previous purchase prices per patent family in past IP3 programs: $96K in 2019, $99K in 2018, $128K in 2017, and $96K in 2016
• AST closed all 26 of the 29 deals before the year-end, 3 were delayed due to reassignment of foreign assets.   All 29 deals were closed by February 2, 2021.

 IP3 2020 Submission Stats

• Over 1,300 submissions were received out of which 200+ submissions were rejected or excluded from the program due to subject matter, family issues, etc.
• 1,163 valid submissions considered by AST members for acquisition
• 1,393 patent families with 3,416 active assets from 41 jurisdictions 
• 89% or 1,030 Deals were single patent family offerings
• Only 6 Deals with more than 5 patent families
• 67% or 783 Deals had at least one previously offered asset to AST
• 75% of purchased deals were previously received and reviewed by AST members emphasizing importance for sellers to stay engaged with AST
• Seller's Asking Price ranged from $3,000 to $500,000,000
• 94% of deals were below $500K
• Average Asking Price per Patent Family - $119K
• Average Asking Price per Deal - $129K

For IP3 2020, we expanded the list of technology areas of focused interest to include Industrial & Manufacturing and Retail & E-commerce. The 16 categories can be found below:

• Advertising & Content Distribution
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML)
• Augmented (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR)
• Automotive & Mobility
• Blockchain & Financial Services
• Cloud Computing & Web Services
• Computer Software & Hardware
• Health Tech & Healthcare IT
• Industrial & Manufacturing
• Internet of Things (IoT) & Smart Home
• LED Lighting & Optoelectronics
• Location-Based Services (LBS) / Navigation
• Medical Devices & Imaging
• Retail & E-commerce
• Semiconductor Manufacturing & Equipment
• Wireless & Telecommunication

IP3 2021

AST is preparing for IP3 2021 later in the year, with a submission window opening on June 21, 2021. IP3 2021's technology areas will be decided in the coming months, but we expect to have similar technology areas along with a similar schedule to IP3 2020.

About AST

AST was founded in 2007 by four global high-tech companies as a member-driven cooperative to mitigate patent risk and to operate with no profit motive. AST serves the world's most innovative and recognized technology companies through the cost-sharing acquisition of patent rights; provides access to the most comprehensive database of patents offered in the secondary market; offers Quarterly Market Insights reporting; and facilitates a community for IP thought leaders to interact and form business relationships.

AST's Members include over 40 top global companies from a wide range of industries including ASSA ABLOY, Cisco, Dolby, Facebook, Google, Honda, IBM, Intel, Lyft, Microsoft, Oracle, Philips, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Slack, Snap, Sony, Spotify, Twitter, Uber and Verizon. For more information on AST, please visit http://www.ast.com.

Member Services: [email protected]
Patent Sales: [email protected]

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