The list, released on Monday, represents about 82% of the company’s roughly 40,000 patents. The company says that the patents it owns but has not listed include “unpublished applications, patents or applications that we have acquired recently, and patents or applications that may be subject to confidentiality arrangements with third parties.”
In a FAQ page, Intellectual Ventures claims it is releasing the list because “customers want to see what is currently available to license or buy and others are curious about our holdings and our intentions.”
The company says the list is a “snapshot” of its portfolio which “may lag behind our actual holdings due to the time it takes to complete the intake of newly acquired patents.”
In September, Intellectual Ventures founder and co-chairman Peter Detkin told Managing IP he is concerned about pending anti-troll legislation. One of his concerns involves “real party-in interest” proposals that would force patent applicants and owners to disclose their ownership. Detkin said that in some circumstances, there are legitimate competitive reasons for companies not to reveal this kind of information.
According to a lobbying registration document filed with the US Senate in August, the company sent its first lobbyist, Russell Merbeth, to Washington, DC this year to campaign on "issues related to patent reform, intellectual property rights, taxation of patent royalties, corporate tax reform".
