There are many locations you can buy and sell patents online. This has not really taken off mainstream though. There are not any flagship websites for this yet, but you can search through multiple sites for patents. Some of the patent marketplaces are:
You can also try IP (intellectual property) forums and eBay too.
Patent ownership and patent licensing rights’ basics
There are some basics you must known first about patent ownership. Having a patent gives the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing the invention, but at the same time does not give you the right to do any of that! In the case that it infringes on a pre-existing patent, you are held liable. Thus a patent search is performed before a patent application by a patent attorney. A patent search SHOULD find any similar patents and the patent application should work around those existing patents and not infringe on them, but sometimes that is not the case.
A good patent covers it’s bases by it’s claims not being so specific that someone else can slip in, make some adjustments, and have a similar patent without infringement. A good one should have broad claims but still explain exactly how the invention works at the same time. Just because it’s patented does not mean it will hold up in court. That is why patent attorneys are hired to file the patent application. They should be making a solid patent. Do-it-yourself patent application that make it through usually do not hold up in court.
Assigning a patent is transferring ownership of the patent. This is done when buying a patent. There are inventors and there are assignees. It might be invented by two people, but both assigned to a company. If you get one of the two inventors to assign it to you, the other inventor still has complete rights as well as you. That one can go and assign it to someone else too.
Patent licensing does not give you ownership of the patent. It gives you rights that may be limited to time of use, field of use, and geographical area. A licensee is just that – not an owner, just someone having a contract to use it. As far as owners and assignees go, everyone in these categories have 100% rights all the time. It does not matter if there are 50 inventors or assignees, they do not each own 2%, but 100% of the rights each.
Patent licensing and patent royalties when buying
If you are a large company, you are much better off buying the patent from the owner(s), since others might try to claim infringement later. If you are a small company, you are probably better off licensing the patent or producing your own invention along the same lines but avoiding infringement. Patent licensing can be expensive. When licensing try to get it based on percentage of sales, or even better yet, percentage of profits, instead of a fixed price, so you owe nothing if you make nothing. Many don’t want to do this because they are not guaranteed anything and would have to check your sales each month to make sure you’re not pulling one over on them. You could probably get a discount paying an up front amount instead and then monthly or performance based payments after, but it all depends on the risk you are willing to take.
If you do not have a lot of experience taking ideas to the market, cut what you expect to make on it in half, and double what you expect the invention to cost you to produce, and if it still totals profit for you then go with it. And always use a patent attorney when purchasing a patent. You can also use a patent agent, but an attorney has to go through much more testing than an agent, so attorneys have a deeper knowledge usually.
Read up on any patent online by putting in the patent number on Google. Google has a database containing all the patents, and will show you all the documentation on them. You can also check on USPTO’s website if it’s a US patent.
If you need money to buy a patent, you will have to seek out venture capitalists or angel investors and put together a solid business plan on how you can purchase the license, market it, and profit from it. But, venture capitalists will want a percentage of your business in return so count on them taking a piece of the pie. The good side is that they will usually mentor you too, because they want to make sure their money makes profit. On another bad note, some venture capitalists abuse the power of owning some of your company and will actual replace you if you are under performing.
Patent licensing and patent royalties when selling
Selling a patent is not all that hard once you’ve found a place to buy it or license it. Any payment structure you can think of can be done (lump sum, monthly, sales-based, collateral). Sales-based licensing can give you the most or the least profit. Have an idea of your stipulations ahead of time. Are you offering an exclusive or non-exclusive license? How long do you want them to license it for, or how long will you make it exclusive? Do you want to still keep some rights for yourself? You can arrange a leaseback style agreement with them to benefit from a full sale, but still keep some rights yourself. Have a patent attorney write up your agreements, and tell him he will get paid from the proceeds so he doesn’t stick you with a bill ahead of time. Also make sure the seller knows where the patent is on it’s timeline. A patent fee is needed for continuation every 4 years.
If you need money to get the idea patented, you can sell it ahead of time having companies sign a non-disclosure agreement or by getting a provisional patent. You cannot list it for sale this way though. Once you get a prospect, you then have to cover the patent cost probably with your own loan, and then sell it. A company will probably not pay you up front if you have no patent. You could also try to sell the idea to them with a valid patent search already done and let them file for the patent, but you will receive much less.
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