A press release issued by IPXI, Intellectual Property Exchange International, Inc., the world’s first financial exchange for licensing and trading intellectual property rights, brought to our attention, the eight month long review of IPXI conducted by the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice. After the completion of the review, the DoJ has, according to the press release, issued its BRL (Business Review Letter) which apparently is in favour of the IPXI Licensing Model.
IPXI, is an exchange that has been founded by the leading innovation corporations of the world in collaboration with prestigious universities of the world. The founding members of IPXI include corporations such as Hewlett-Packard Company, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Sony Corporation of America and Philips Intellectual Property & Standards, a division of Philips Electronics among others.
It appears to be the unanimous opinion of the concerned officials at IPXI that the BRL amounts to a endorsement by the DoJ and which in turn will help in fostering confidence in the minds of IPXI members and prospective market participants.
The BRL, notes that the IPXI Licensing Model is an efficient model which has the potential to benefit IP owners and users alike by providing lower transaction costs as well as by enabling a more efficient match up of licensees and licensors. The DoJ also noted with approval the IPXI system of pooled URL’s, through which patents with more than one owner can be offered together. This system will help reducing the expense and time involved to acquire and disseminate such patents to the potential licensees and consequently help in the reduction of the stacked royalties, clear the blocked positions and integrate technologies resulting in better practice and innvoation in the industry. The BRL of the DoJ, also notes that in addition to these benefits, the IPXI Licensing Model could “generate efficiencies for the IP marketplace and encourage innovation through increased licensing efficiency, sublicense transferability, and greater transparency.” Moreover, the aspect of price transparency along with lower transaction costs will help IP users to make better development and financial decisions leading to further reduction of costs.
The President and Chief Executive Officer of IPXI, Gerard Pannekoek, has announced, in the press release, that the official launch of the marketing period for the first offerings of IPXI which would kickstart the trading on the Exchange floors would happen soon.
