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By J.D. Houvener
Patent Attorney and Founder

When you want to invest in stocks, you call a stock broker. The same is true for patents and other forms of intellectual property. 

With the thousands of patent brokers in the United States alone, finding the best one for you can be a tricky challenge. Luckily for you, we’ve done most of your homework for you!

To help you get started on your search here is an ultimate guide to some of the top 18 best patent brokers in the United States.

Bold Patents

Bold Patents logo

Bold Patents distinguishes itself as offering some of the best patent brokerage services in the country due to our holistic approach to patent law. We offer full-service legal expertise, meaning we not only help our clients obtain patents, but we also offer advice on selling, buying, or licensing them. Our team consists of patent attorneys who are also highly educated and experienced in various technical fields, which enables us to understand intricate patent details in multiple industries, from software to biotechnology.

The effectiveness of Bold Patents’ services also lies in our thorough understanding of the patent marketplace and its complexities. By combining our extensive legal expertise with our deep market insight, we effectively match patent sellers with prospective buyers, ensuring that our clients get the best value for their inventions. This proactive approach to market navigation gives Bold Patents a competitive edge, as we can identify potential opportunities and challenges before they become significant issues.

Lastly, the firm’s emphasis on client success is another reason we are widely respected. Bold Patents doesn’t just broker transactions; we invest in our clients’ future. We consider the long-term implications of each deal, tailoring our strategies to support our clients’ growth and innovation objectives, making us an invaluable partner for businesses seeking to protect and capitalize on their inventions.

Vitek IP

Vitek IP is an intellectual property advisory that combines traditional IP expertise with state-of-the-art software and cutting-edge technology. In doing so, they create tangible market value for their clients. Their team of made up of certified IP professionals, in-house attorneys, consultant attorneys, and subject matter experts with years of technology experience and excellent credentials.

They’re also well-versed (and all-too familiar with) patent transactions, patent consulting, and technology development.

As an advisory, Vitek IP is focused on uncovering and maximizing patent value for small- to mid-tier tech companies. They strive to create value for their clients by managing and growing their patent portfolio to increase investment interest, create new monetization options, minimize licensing risk and outlay, improve shareholder confidence, and recognize partnership opportunities.

In order to do this, they must successfully navigate their client across the patent landscape. From patent valuation to patent sales and acquisition, Vitek IP is there for their clients every step of the way.

Their services cover all aspects of patent ownership. This includes patent creation, patent maintenance, patent acquisition, patent licensing, and patent sale.

Tangible IP

Routinely one of the best-ranked patent brokerage firms in the business, Tangible IP has successfully brokered over 3,000 patents. This makes them not only a national leader in the industry, but a global one!

Tangible IP is routinely retained by Fortune 500 companies, SMEs, and investors for the selling or acquisition of patent assets. They also work with buyers who are interested in approaching patent owners anonymously.

This group isn’t a law firm or a patent assertion entity. This means that they are typically able to engage in constructive dialogue with those who have an interest in the assets under their brokerage. For this reason, they have been able to complete many licensing agreements that benefit their clients without having to use assertion activity. So if you want to learn how to write a patent application – or something similar – you might want to check this firm out!

Best of all? Tangible IP is one of just a few firms in the world that is able to list the portfolios it brokers in the IAM Marketplace. This supplies a substantial advantage to patent owners looking to get the best deal for their assets!

1624 Capital

1624 Capital draws its namesake from the enactment of the Statute of Monopolies, which the English Parliament passed in 1624 in order to establish the system of patents that still exists today. Of course, many changes have been made to the system over the past almost 400 years, but the essence remains the same.

This patent-brokerage firm offers a wide variety of services. One of the more noteworthy service benefits that 1624 Capitals provides its clients comes in the form of patent litigation finances. It is a well-known fact that patents cost an obscene amount of money, sometimes running more than $40,000.

That said, 1624 Capital provides the benefit to its clients of covering “some or all of the costs of monetizing a claim.” Granted, this is a benefit that many other patent brokers also provide, it is of noteworthy importance to the attorneys at this particular firm.

Acorn Technologies

Another popular patent broker is Acorn Technologies. Acorn Technologies has been around since 1998 and has since earned its name as one of the key players in the field of intellectual property legislation.

Unfortunately, Acorn Technologies doesn’t offer a wide array of patent options. As its “Company” page states, the firm only deals in the fields of semiconductor and telecommunications technology. If you’re looking to purchase a patent in any other field, then you’re not going to gain much benefit from this firm.

That said, if you’re looking for a patent regarding the Internet of Things, IP cores, or high-tech telecommunications algorithms, a specialist attorney like those at Acorn Technologies might be the perfect asset to assist you in your search. The restaurant industry has a saying that is quite apt here, “When there are fewer items on the menu, the cooks cook better.”

Adapt IP Ventures

As the name suggests, Adapt IP Ventures provides a suite of benefits centered around investment opportunities. In fact, the firm’s website’s homepage lists “IP Ventures” as one of its top three focal areas in terms of services provided, as well as IP transactions and IP advisory.

Adapt IP Ventures has the option to facilitate investments in the intellectual property of various startups across multiple industries, providing a more unique and modernized business approach to American startup culture.

The business model for the firm’s IP Venture services can be broken down further into three categories: IP partnership, IP development, and IP bridge financing. IP bridge financing is a lesser-known method of investing in a company’s IP without actually purchasing the IP. Instead, you put up your funds as a bridge loan for the company to use to monetize their patent portfolio.

Aqua Licensing LLC.

If you’re working with a major investment banking company, it’s possible that you’ve heard the name Aqua Licensing LLC. This company is one of the leading patent brokerage firms among such high-profile investors, providing clients with both the ability to sell as well as buy patents.

The overwhelming majority of Aqua’s clients are brought in through referrals from one of the company’s four investment banking partners. Extenuating circumstances can lead Aqua to take on clients who are unaffiliated with those four partners; however, the information on their websites lends itself to the notion that that is not a likely course of action.

Other than Aqua’s general sense of exclusivity, it is an otherwise ordinary firm, functioning in much the same way as many others. That said, that exclusivity makes it difficult for outsiders to evaluate the functions of Aqua’s business platform.

AST

AST is a patent brokerage firm with multiple high-profile members spanning several highly profitable industries. Among the list of members are Ford, IBM, and Google. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you have to be part of a Fortune 500 company in order to qualify for membership in AST’s patent system.

One of the main aspects of service that sets AST apart from the other patent brokers on this list is the fact that AST functions on a unique non-profit patent brokerage system while still providing the standard benefits of a for-profit firm and then some.

Because of AST’s reliance on a membership system, the company is inherently more exclusive than many others. However, the benefits available to the members speak for themselves, including such options as consortium buying and networking opportunities.

Blackhawk Technologies, LLC.

What sets the patent marketplace at Blackhawk Technologies apart from most other patent brokers is that this firm specializes in mergers and acquisitions as well as brokering intellectual property transactions. 

Despite the fact that Blackhawk has a client list that includes multiple Fortune 500 companies, the firm seems to be open to working with companies of any size, even including first-year startups, making it a viable option for anybody in the market for acquisitions of another business’s assets, whether tangible or otherwise.

Blackhawk also frequently varies it’s patent brokerage campaigns in order to maximize the utility (and profit) of its clients. As of late 2019, for example, the company is looking primarily for obscure patents for specialized battery and assembly technology technologies. One of the best parts of this campaign-style brokerage is the fact that it demonstrates how responsive the brokers are to the needs of their clients as well as the movers in the market.

Dennemeyer

Like a couple other firms on this list, Dennemeyer provides a handful services in addition to the standard functions of a patent brokerage firm. What sets Dennemeyer apart from those other firms, however, is just how large that handful is: the company provides more than 40 service options for its clients.

The services that Dennemeyer offers range from anti-counterfeiting protections to the production of working statements. To help narrow it down, Dennemeyer has published a list of five categories into which most of their services fall: patents, trademarks, law-firm services, software, and patent consultation.

One of the key services for investors looking to increase revenue from existing IP is Dennemeyer’s IP monetization system. More of a partnership than a transaction, Dennemeyer will not charge the IP-owner anything for the use of the IP monetization strategies, meaning that you won’t have to risk your finances when your IP isn’t performing as well as expected.

Ever Edge

Unlike firms such as Aqua, Ever Edge markets itself generally for anybody wishing to enter the realm of intellectual property ownership with or without a referral from any of its many partners. This firm even has a section of its website dedicated specifically to helping potential clients understand some of the legalese associated with the patent brokerage process.

Further increasing Ever Edge’s range of services is the fact that it is neither limited to servicing companies nor investors. Rather, the experts at Ever Edge provide a range of different services for both categories of people, making this company one of the most accepting of new clients. A general rule of thumb for Ever Edge is that if you want help, you get it.

Among the services for investors are consultation, market evaluations, and risk-side and value-side analyses. Ever Edge even facilitates the successful offering of company IPOs in order to maximize wealth while minimizing risk. Although this is a function of many business strategy consultants, it is a benefit seldom offered by patent brokerage firms.

Hoffman Patent Firm

One of the best full-service patent firms on the market is Hoffman Patent Firm. Hoffman provides a straight-forward, cut and dry analysis of a variety of factors that can impact the purchase or sale of your intellectual property in a simple and effective manner. Even the company’s website reflects this commitment to a straight-forward approach.

As with any full-service patent firm, Hoffman provides assistance with everything from the registration to the enforcement of your intellectual property. They can even help you with filing a design patent application. However, another major benefit that Hoffman has over its competition is that it is a law firm first and patent broker second. That gives the company an added emphasis on legal studies which increases your chances of winning should your IP ever go to trial.

Because of the fact that the Hoffman Patent Firm is predominantly staffed by patent attorneys, rather than non-attorney patent brokers, you can rest assured that your intellectual property needs will be safely and legally secured without any risk of manipulation at the hands of a shifty brokerage agent.

Intellectual Asset Group (IAG)

If the patents that you’re looking to acquire are in the fields of telecommunications, semiconductors, consumer electronics, or a related field, then the Intellectual Asset Group (IAG) is one of the top options on the table.

IAG maintains a database of prospective and actual patent buyers and frequently updates that database in order to ensure that it contains the most accurate contact information for its clients both on the in-bound and out-bound side of the patent transactions.

Moreover, IAG will help with all aspects of the purchase and/or sale of any intellectual property submission that it accepts. That includes the initial valuation, suggested prices, and even presenting the portfolio to any prospective buyers. Since IAG’s client list includes both buyers and sellers within the same industry, the turnaround time is much faster than at many single-sided brokerage firms.

Prognosis IP

Another great option if you’re looking to find a brokerage firm owned and operated by attorneys, rather than solely non-attorney business people, is Prognosis IP. Prognosis was founded by attorneys in order to present prospective and actual patent buyers and sellers with strategic solutions for revenue generation in both active and passive patents.

Throughout the history of the company, Prognosis has consistently demonstrated its skill for litigation. Its attorneys have successfully prosecuted more than 1,000 companies on the basis of intellectual property infringement–among other things–and has generated more than $10 million in the process.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of Prognosis IP’s work is that the company is capable of seeking out, buying, and monetizing intellectual property in any industry, provided that the technology has been made public. Although you can do the same through a Google patent search, the benefits of hiring a team of experienced lawyers far outweigh those of working pro se.

Red Chalk Group

The Red Chalk Group services just about 21 categories spread across a wide array of industries. Though not as comprehensive as a standard patent firm’s array of industry options, the options provided by this firm can be exactly what you need if you already know what you’re looking for and in which industry it is to be found.

This firm doesn’t only function as a brokerage group. Otherwise, it quite likely would not have made this list. Instead, what makes the Red Chalk Group stand out is the fact that the company also offers IP portfolio valuations, acquisitions assistance, and more. 

Although not quite a full-service patent law firm, this company is still capable of helping you through just about any part of the patent brokerage process. Whether the company’s clients are looking to buy or sell, invest or divest, or any other form of optioning intellectual property, the Red Chalk Group has proven its excellence in providing strategic solutions to match those needs.

Tech Insights

If you happen to be looking for technological patents, then there is arguably no company better suited to assist you than Tech Insights. Tech Insights is a full-service patent brokerage firm that retains a handful of attorneys in order to provide the additional benefits of patent assertion and defense.

However, what sets Tech Insights apart from its competition is the fact that it doubles as one of the market’s preeminent technology research firms. Not only does it carry out patent protection legislation but its expert technicians and engineers also conduct detailed and reliable reverse engineering experiments.

Unfortunately, in order to access the data from the company’s reverse engineers, you’ll have to create an account and pay for a subscription. That means that you might end up paying for something for which you have no use; though the potential benefits heavily outweigh the costs, provided that you have a clear vision of what it is that you are trying to accomplish.

Think Fire

Another great full-service patent firm is Think Fire. This firm is an intellectual property advising, brokerage, and licence servicing firm with a list of clients that includes multiple household names in the technology industry, such as Nokia and Kodak.

Think Fire specializes in assisting in the patent process for owners of technology patents, regardless of which industries those technologies fall into. Because of this wide-reaching monetization strategy–as well as the high-quality advisory services that the company provides–Think Fire has managed to produce more than $1 billion in value for its clients since 2001.

The massive amount of wealth that Think Fire has produced in fewer than two decades makes it one of the most profitable and financially successful patent brokers on this list, with its transactional services and monetization strategies proving more than capable of succeeding in any aspect of the American technology market.

Tynax Patent Brokers

If you’re in the market for a brokerage firm that is willing to bring it lawyers on retainer to fight for you (as either the defendant or the plaintiff) in a legal matter related to patent infringement, then Tynax Patent Brokers is one company that should be at the top of your list of considerations.

Tynax specializes in brokerage, a fact that has led to the company’s becoming one of the nation’s preeminent options in the realm of transactional exchanges of intellectual property registrations. 

Not only is the company consistently looking to buy new patents in order to satisfy the demands of its clients on the buying side of the transactions, but it also helps to monetize existing patents, provided only that they bear some semblance of commercial viability and have not already been infringed.

Vibrant IP

When it comes to medical patents, there is no company capable of matching the level of success that Vibrant IP has achieved in the field of patent brokerage. Part of the reason for the company’s success is also the reason that you should only consider using it if you’re looking for medical patents: the company only services transactions in the medical industry.

If that does, however, match your needs, then you can stand to optimize your risk-value ratio in a cost-effective manner through the use of Vibrant IP’s IP mining operations, strategic consulting, and patent valuation services. While those tend to be among the most in-demand services that the company provides, the benefits don’t stop there.

Unlike many other brokerage firms, Vibrant IP will also market your technology to its ever-growing database of prospective and actual buyers at the most optimal time in order to satisfy peak demand and maximize the firm’s monetization efforts. 

Conclusion

When it comes to buying and selling intellectual property of any kind, especially patents, finding the marketplace that is right for you can pose a significant challenge. It just takes time, resources, and experience. Fortunately for you, we at Bold Patents have all of the above!

Whether you’re looking for a general broker or a single-industry specialist, an attorney who also buys and sells patents or a broker who can also provide legal advice, or any other form of brokerage assistance, you can rest assured that there is something out there for everybody.

All that’s left to do now is to start making calls!

Legal Note: This blog article does not constitute as legal advice. Although the article was written by a licensed USPTO patent attorney there are many factors and complexities that come into patenting an idea. We recommend you consult a lawyer if you want legal advice for your particular situation. No attorney-client or confidential relationship exists by simply reading and applying the steps stated in this blog article.

 

About the Author
J.D. Houvener is a Registered USPTO Patent Attorney who has a strong interest in helping entrepreneurs and businesses thrive. J.D. leverages his technical background in engineering and experience in the aerospace industry to provide businesses with a unique perspective on their patent needs. He works with clients who are serious about investing in their intellectual assets and provides counsel on how to capitalize their patents in the market. If you have any questions regarding this article or patents in general, consider contacting J.D. Houvener at https://boldip.com/contact/