Special Situations
A patent I own belongs to a company that no longer exists — what can I do?
The short answer
Plenty — orphaned and divested patents are a recognized, actively traded asset class in the roughly $158-million-a-year secondary market. The first step is title: confirm the chain from the defunct company to you is clean and recorded.
The full picture
When companies dissolve, their IP passes somewhere — to shareholders, creditors, acquirers, or state processes — and paper trails get messy. Before any deal, a buyer's counsel will trace every link; getting your own house in order first (recorded assignments, dissolution documents, fee status) is what makes the asset sellable.
The upside: orphaned patents often cover genuinely useful technology whose only problem was the parent company's strategy, and buyers know it. Valuation and packaging work the same as any other patent — with title diligence moved to the front of the line. If you're sitting on one, it's worth a proper look before assuming it's wallpaper.
Where does your patent stand?
The Beyond the Patent Commercialization Score answers that — a professional, factor-by-factor read on your patent's licensing, sale, build, and partner potential.
Related questions
General information for patent owners — not legal advice. Read the disclaimer.