Taiwanese firms seeking to buy international patents in auctions

Following last year’s success of the Taiwan International Patent Auction Platform (TIPA), Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has announced that two auctions will be held this year, in June and October.

TIPA was set up to allow international companies to sell of their inventory of unused patents to Taiwanese companies who might still benefit from the patents. The auction allows companies to increase their return on R&D investments, whilst also giving opportunities for alliances in new business areas.

The auctions are conducted electronically and are managed by ITRI. Patent owners wishing to list a patent in the auction have to submit their patent portfolio on the website and are required to pay a small listing fee. ITRI lots the patents, and categorises them by technology type.

The 2007 TIPA saw over 165 patents traded, and had a 69% transaction success rate. This year, ITRI is hoping to build upon this success, and increase the number of patents sold, as well as the number of patent fields covered.

Patents for the auction are being sought in the fields of GPS, IC fabless, wireless communications, TFT LCD, digital TV, LED, video and audio players, and software.

The deadline for submitting patents for the first auction is 31st March. The deadline for the October auction will be in mid-July. Any patents left unsold in the first auction will be given an automatic placement in the second auction.