Kodak Patents Sold for $525 Million 117
An anonymous reader writes "Intellectual Ventures and RPX Rational Patent, two companies frequently referred to as patent trolls, have snapped up the troubled Kodak company's imaging patents. Bloomberg reports that Kodak has agreed to sell the patent portfolio for $525 million, despite previous valuations of over $2 billion."
New submitter speedplane adds "How many stories have we read hating on the biggest patent troll of them all? Finally we see Intellectual Ventures making their case in a Wired op-ed, filled with everything you would would expect from a company suing the tech world on thousands of dubious patents: '...the system needs intermediaries within the market — companies like Intellectual Ventures — to help sift through and navigate the published landscape. By developing focused expertise, these patent licensing entities and intermediaries can function as patent aggregators, assembling portfolios of relevant inventions and providing access through licensing.' And my favorite gem: 'Ultimately, the users of those products — you — are the ones who benefit.'"
Re:so who really owns the patents? (Score:5, Funny)
Could you please just stick to car analogies?
"Intellectual Ventures" (Score:3, Funny)
My mistake. I thought it read "Intellectual Vultures". Sorry
Re:Aww, how adorable... (Score:5, Funny)
The complexity, and getting-sued risk, of tech patents are just so high that we need good, honest, businessmen like Intellectual Ventures to help us sort it all out for a small fee...
Why didn't they just name this company Intellectual Vultures? I would at least respect them for their honesty if they did.
Re:so who really owns the patents? (Score:5, Funny)
OK: that's like saying a Jaguar and a Cougar were going to have a Bobcat hold the dead Impala they both want to eat.
You are the ones who benefit (Score:2, Funny)
I need to put down the coffee (Score:2, Funny)