HC, I think this post is drastically misleading.
First of all, you say patents have value. That is VERY true, especially when patents such as Titans pertain to highly desirable concepts, functions, and devices in a rapidly growing technology such as robotic surgery. You then offered one small piece of the cost (not value). The cost you specified is merely a filing fee, as you did point out. But you omitted the real costs of conceptualizing and developing the idea into a patentable entity, then incurring the additional costs to carefully script the application into a reasonably descriptive and protective document (patent application) to send out with the relatively small $15k filing fee. And these are all just costs, not value.
The VALUE of the patents is somewhat intangible and hence they are worth what someone is willing to pay for them. This patent portfolio has the capability of transforming another organization's robotic offerings from a behemoth system which occupies an uncomfortable amount of real estate around the entire perimeter of the patient table (e.g. Medtronic) while giving them the ability to market a new single port system without needing to work around the plethora of technologies locked up by Titan's patents. Alternately, a company with an existing single port system (ISRG, obviously) could buy the Titan portfolio to both enhance their current line of single port offerings as well as to serve as a blocking mechanism for other possible competitors. They could even use some Titan patents to enhance their multiport offerings (such as with the camera wash system).
I think if that is the end game, it would be foolish to allow someone to cherry-pick a few patents from the portfolio; it should go as a bulk offering, as part of the sale of the entire company.
I'm not saying that I think this is the strategy they are employing, but if they went this direction, regardless of costs, the VALUE could be well into the billions given the competitive advantages a buyer would then possess. And if they get the funding to proceed as an ongoing entity, the sky is the limit (although as time marches on, more competitive clouds keep occupying that sky).
Message in reply to:
Honeycomb777 Saturday, 11/30/19 11:41:38 AM
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Post # 100840 of 100888
One last post from me today...Patents have value folks. To file one, the fee is ~$15K. So 125 x $15K = $1.9M in costs alone that Jazzy had to pay.
So, I guess you really have to look at which ones (patent pending) are the most crucial/valuable. Just like Titan wouldn't say hurry up to the FDA if approval was taking too long, I doubt Mc is going to get on the patent office for those outstanding ones filed 4-5 years ago.
AI
