• NASA patent sold at auction A NASA patent portfolio sold for $50,000 at the Ocean Tomo Fall 2008 Auction in Chicago in October, marking the first time the US federal government has taken part in a patent auction. NASA's lot 56, the Hilbert-Huang transform and its applications, consisted of 10 US patents and one domestic application for a method and system for analysing signals. The highest lot sold for more than $1.8 million, with the entire auction bringing in $12.8 million. Ocean Tomo auctions grossed a total of $45.1 million in 2008, an increase of 45% from 2007.