Ford, Delphi and Visteon Join Patent & License Exchange
11 October 2000
Ford Global Technologies, Delphi and Visteon Join The Patent & License Exchange
PASADENA, Calif.--Oct. 11, 2000--Safest Online Marketplace for Intangible Assets Helps Top Automotive
Technology Companies Transform Their Intellectual
Property Into Financial Assets
The Patent & License Exchange (pl-x.com), the safest global marketplace for intangible assets including patents, trademarks and know-how, today announced that Ford Global Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Co. ; Delphi Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Delphi Automotive Systems ; and Visteon Corp. have joined the pl-x Exchange.
These leading automotive technology companies, whose intangible assets account for a significant fraction of intellectual property holdings in the automotive industry, will employ pl-x's suite of financial tools to manage, value and monetize their patent portfolios.
"We believe that The Patent & License Exchange can support our efforts to prioritize our intellectual property assets, determine which patents to license and which to let expire, and help us find and negotiate new licensing deals," said Henry Fradkin, director of the Patent & Technology Office of Ford Global Technologies. "pl-x provides the kind of information and risk-reduction tools we are looking for to improve our process for extracting value from our IP portfolio."
By taking a seat on the pl-x Exchange, these cutting-edge companies gain access to pl-x's proprietary financial tools including the TRRU Metrics valuation system, internationally compliant transaction documents, transaction assurances services through Chicago Title and (US$) $10 million in patent validity insurance for buyers and qualified sellers through Swiss Re.
These tools, based on those used by disciplined financial markets, reduce a company's transaction and opportunity costs, improve the cash flow from their intangible assets and speed the time to market for their innovative technologies.
"Ford, Delphi and Visteon are world leaders in the development of innovative technologies," said Nir Kossovsky, chairman and CEO of The Patent & License Exchange. "pl-x's financial tools and global marketplace will help them to become world leaders in the management of these technologies and harness both the financial and societal value of their innovations."
As pl-x subscribers, Ford Global Technologies, Delphi Technologies Inc. and Visteon Corp. will immediately benefit from pl-x's latest financial tool -- the TRRU Metrics Valuation system. TRRU, or Technology Risk / Reward Unit, provides an objective, market-driven value estimate for every patent listed on the pl-x Exchange.
Based on the Nobel Prize-winning Black-Scholes Options Pricing Model and the recognition that patents are actually call options on technology, TRRU Valuation provides pl-x subscribers with a standardized financial tool for unlocking the value of their intangible assets.
"TRRU Metrics is going to revolutionize how we manage our growing portfolio of new technologies," said Anthony Lee, director of licensing & vice president of Delphi Technologies Inc. "Before TRRU, it took a tremendous amount of time and money to determine the value of a single patent. Now, with the help of pl-x, we can value our entire portfolio quickly without the expense of hiring a consultant."
According to the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment, the automotive technology sector is one of the fastest-growing industries for the issuance of new patents. In addition to its other financial services, pl-x tracks the value of intellectual property in the automotive sector with its Intangible Asset Market (IAM) Index available on its Web site. By calculating the intangible asset values of 30 automotive technology companies, the IAM Index tracks the value of intangibles in that sector.
"pl-x will help these global technology leaders become intellectual capitalists by providing them with the objective and transparent information they need to manage their intellectual property portfolios and leverage their most valuable assets -- their intangibles," explained Kossovsky.
The Automotive Sector is one of five rapidly growing technology sectors that constitute the core of assets on The Patent & License Exchange. The other sectors, which are tracked by pl-x through their own individual Intangible Asset Market Indices, include Information Technology, Life Sciences, Advanced Materials, and Express Package, Transportation and Logistics.