Intellectual property services firm Rouse, in partnership with IP valuation firm Inngot, today launch Intangio, a patent assessment and valuation service on Ali Auctions, China’s largest online auction service and part of the e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.
Intangio, which was developed in collaboration with Ali Auctions, serves the needs of administrators who are appointed by courts to dispose of assets of bankrupt companies. Administrators can use the tool as an instant guideline to set reserve prices for patents offered on the Ali Auctions platform.
Intangio is the first publicly-available tool of its kind, and its growing database of patent transactions will have value to financial institutions, and the legal and technology community by providing accurate market valuation of patents.
Intangio estimates patent prices by comparison with historical transactions. In developing the tool, Rouse and Inngot built China’s largest database of corporate patent auctions so that Intangio can estimate prices accurately. Intangio also provides an assessment of patent quality, using Inngot’s proprietary metrics on this, as well as an “attractiveness” score which is based on volumes of transactions, licensing and litigation activity of comparable patents, drawing on Rouse’s CIELA litigation database.
While Intangio’s services are currently only available to users of the Ali Auctions platform, Rouse and Inngot have plans to expand its use within other Alibaba Group applications and more widely.
Chris Bailey, a Principal at Rouse Consultancy who led the Intangio project for Rouse, says:
“Our data-driven approach is uniquely suited to the problem of automated and accurate IP valuation, which Ali Auctions were looking to solve. Intangio will give banks and insurers essential data on recoverable value, helping China – which is already a pioneer in the IP finance value chain – to further enhance its IP lending system. Outside of financial markets, Intangio provides companies with an accurate way to assess the value and quality of their patents.”
Martin Brassell, co-founder and CEO of Inngot, says:
“Intangio is part of our drive to transform IP valuation. Currently it is often regarded as an art; Inngot is turning it into a science through the use of data analytics. This is the only way IP value can be exploited at scale, and third parties can have confidence in it.”
Nick Redfearn, leader of the Rouse Ventures Programme, says:
“This project was developed as part of the Rouse Ventures programme which combines a focus on data analysis with the knowledge and experience we have gained over the past 30 years seeks to build unique innovative tools for the IP world. They can be used standalone or to compliment the advice our teams provide across the firm.”
Rouse and Inngot announced a strategic alliance in January 2019, which has already led to applications of Inngot’s solutions within Rouse businesses in China, South-East Asia and the Middle East.