Comments on: Patent Acquisition and Venture Capital

By: Dr. Lindsay Moore

Dr. Lindsay Moore — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:08:27 +0000

What is the “different risk profile” you refer to, and why do patents provide a welcome alternative?

By: Bill Rosenblatt

Bill Rosenblatt — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:50:30 +0000

I believe that (in the US, at least) the antitrust argument only comes into play if the patent holding entity asserts its IP in litigation in order to (allegedly) restrain otherwise legitimate business activity. This is known as abuse of IP and is sometimes a counterclaim in IP infringement suits. As long as entities like Allied stick to defensive ownership, they should be immune from antitrust concerns.

By: ipeg

ipeg — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:33:11 +0000

I noticed that a similar anti-trust argument was raised in the US. I quote the WSJ Law Blog: “Before you scream “antitrust!”, the groups CEO, Brian Hinman, a former VP of intellectual property and licensing at IBM, says the group doesn’t face any antitrust issues because it isn’t a profit-making venture and its members don’t actually own patents — they just grant themselves a license to them.)

By: Fred Logue

Fred Logue — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:26:54 +0000

I wonder if the Allied Securities model would be illegal under Article 81 in the EU?