WHEN the gavel drops at an auction in San Francisco next week, some exquisite pieces will change hands. But it won’t be paintings commanding the millions, it will be patents.
On 6 April Chicago-based intellectual-property firm Ocean Tomo will hold the first public patent auction at the city’s Ritz-Carlton hotel. Selling a patent typically involves a long, secretive process, which Ocean Tomo hopes to streamline. It has selected about 450 patents to be put up for auction, grouped into over 70 related lots. Some lots are expected to sell for more than $5 million.
Included in the auction is a…
