Talk:Intellectual Ventures
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[edit] Good source: Forbes Article (11-14-05)
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2005/1114/166.html
Extract...
Thalveg, it turns out, is a shell company, sister to others with names like Orange Computer, Purple Mountain Server and Maquis Techtrix. They are all controlled by a venture capital firm called Intellectual Ventures, based in Bellevue, Wash.
This brain trust, acting behind its myriad shell companies, has, according to one former executive, spent tens of millions of dollars since 2003 scooping up hundreds of powerful patents. What they intend to do with them is very much in dispute. Myhrvold's firm could represent the high-tech business model of the future, earning rich licensing fees from ideas without putting capital into factories. "In the 21st century we'll see a rise of invention companies," said Myhrvold in a February interview. He declined to comment for this story.
But former colleagues of Myhrvold and patent experts watching moves at Intellectual Ventures say the firm is less an invention company than a protection company. It seems to be set up to help defend its investors against so-called patent trolls, enterprising patent lawyers and small companies that sue but have few or no products for sale. Its patent library would presumably allow it to play an offensive as well as a defensive game. It could threaten or sue any firm that hasn't paid to join the IV gang.
Other articles: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6478691/site/newsweek/ http://news.com.com/Microsoft+alums+amass+thousands+of+patents/2100-1014_3-5929360.html?tag=nefd.lede
