Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Bayer, Rolls-Royce, Famous Research Centres and Individual Inventors Sell Their Patents and Licences at Live Auction in Munich

Home > Press > Bayer, Rolls-Royce, Famous Research Centres and Individual Inventors Sell Their Patents and Licences at Live Auction in Munich

Abstract:
Wide Choice Offered in Areas Engineering, Life Science, Automotive and Environmental Technology

Bayer, Rolls-Royce, Famous Research Centres and Individual Inventors Sell Their Patents and Licences at Live Auction in Munich

MUNICH, Germany | Posted on March 5th, 2007

- "We are Proud to be Able to Auction More Than 70 High Value Lots With Over 300 Brand Rights, Patents and Licences From Well Known International Companies," Says Dr. Manfred Petri, Spokesman for IP Auctions GmbH

- Auction 14th and 15th May in Munich On May 14th and 15th in Hotel Kempinski Airport, Munich, the first live auction will be held of patents, licences and brand rights of European origin. Leading companies such as Bayer Innovation GmbH, Merck Patent GmbH or Rolls-Royce Deutschland and research centres such as the Fraunhofer Institute are offering an international public an extensive choice of intellectual property rights. The emphasis is on the areas of engineering, Life Science, Automotive and Environmental technology.

Dr, Manfred Petri, spokesman for IP Auctions GmbH, comments on this assortment: "We are delighted that not only well known companies but also individual inventors and research centres have released patents, licences and brand rights for auction. The area of protection of these intellectual property rights and licences does not only cover Europe, but for a great deal also cover the most important industrial nations such as the USA and Japan.

Among the patents and licences on offer are:

- A machine tool system with ultra precise magnetic, contactless bearings

- A "Pay-As-You-Drive" system that evaluates the risk associated with the use of motorised vehicles and

- A system of electrochromic dyes that can turn the glass facades of skyscrapers into billboards

From today all Intellectual Property Rights available for auction can be viewed online on www.ip-auctions.eu. Registered bidders can visit a virtual Data Room from March 12th 2007 and subject the properties in which they are interested to an Online Due Diligence.

Interest in the live auction is extraordinarily high, both nationally and internationally, there is great interest from Europe, the USA and South East Asia in patents in the auction's technology section. The demand for new patents generally is considerable and an auction is recognised by many companies as an efficient trading platform which presents the opportunity to reduce costs for research and development

With this live auction, IP Auctions, the legal side of which is represented by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, is setting the course for future trade with intangible assets, and thus serves the speeding up of technology transfer which is indispensable for the innovation capability of businesses. "The effectiveness of the patent system, however, depends heavily on the actual use of patent portfolios, either by the inventors or applicants themselves or by third parties. It is a challenge to bring together the inventors and users with the object of improving the rate of licensing and market exchange of intellectual property rights," says Professor Alain Pompidou, President of the European Patent Office.

####

About IP Auctions
IP Auctions GmbH (IPA), founded in August 2006, presents the Intellectual Property Auction - an international live auction for patents, licences and trademarks - May 14 and 15, 2007 in Munich. IPA is an independent member of an international network that specialises in patent evaluation, marketing and licensing from the areas of nanotechnology, mechanical engineering, consumer electronics, automotive technology, life science, medical technology, pharmaceutical and biotechnology and "green" technologies.

IPA's objective is to market first-class IP rights via auction. IPA's sister company, IP Bewertungs AG (IPB), based in Hamburg, offers support in the run-up to this auction by ensuring that formal requirements of all submitted patents are met.

Background: Trade in patents

Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony Corporation, is certain that "the battles of companies will no longer be fought on the lowlands of mass goods production, but on the heights of innovative capability." Current empirical studies show that he is not alone in this opinion. Between 1990 and 2000, the global trade volume of licence income rose from around 10 billion US$ to 100 billion US$. The European Patent Office expects that this will reach 500 billion US$ for patent licences by 2010. Despite the rising importance of intangible assets, the trade in intellectual property rights, for instance patents and brands, is still under-developed and not very transparent. This leads to substantial misallocation, both macro and micro-economically. According to a survey by the Austrian Patent Office, in Europe, between 15 and 30 per cent of research expenditure is spent on duplicate inventions. This is equivalent to an annual sum of around 50 billion Euros. A patents auction is a means of preventing duplication of inventions, of promoting trade in intellectual properties and thus saving companies considerable costs.

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Dr. Manfred Petri,
General Agent,
IP Auctions GmbH,
Toelzer Strasse 5
D-82031 Gruenwald
Germany
Phone +49-89-441-093-90
Fax +49-40-87-87-90-123
Email

Managing Director: Jochen Kamlah
Registered in: Munich - HRB: 163548
Tel +49-(0)89-441-093-90
Email: