How do I sell a patent?

In our engagements, the sales that close share one trait: the seller could show why the buyer needed the claims. Companies buy patents because they are already practicing the invention and want the risk off the table, because owning the claims would strengthen their position against a competitor, or because the patent fills a hole in a portfolio they are building. Nobody pays for elegance or effort.

That is why evidence of use, a documented mapping of a real product's features against your claim language, is the single strongest asset in a patent sale. It converts the patent from a theory into a negotiating position, it raises perceived value, and it forces a serious buyer into real diligence, which is exactly the engagement you want.

First, know what you have. A valuation and an evidence-of-use review tell you whether a sale campaign is worth running and give you a defensible anchor for negotiation. Check the fundamentals at the same time: clean title with recorded assignments, current maintenance fees, and meaningful remaining life. In our experience, patents with under three years left rarely sell at any price, because the buyer cannot implement anything before expiration.

Second, build the target list. Patent citations are the fastest signal: companies citing your patent are building on it, and companies you cite may be blocked by it. Add companies whose products resemble your claims, then check whether each target has actually bought patents before. First-time buyers add months of friction because they have no process for diligence or pricing.

Third, choose a channel and run the outreach as a campaign: a short introduction package, a deeper presentation for interested parties, and a diligence package for serious ones. Fourth, negotiate structure. A lump-sum assignment is the simplest, but many deals close as a license instead of a sale, as a sale with a license back so you can keep practicing the invention, or as a partnership or supply arrangement the buyer proposes once they understand the asset.

Direct outreach keeps the entire price but demands real work: contact research, tailored packages for each target, and disciplined follow-up over many months. A no today is often a yes in 18 months when the target's product plans shift, so persistence is part of the job. Brokers bring buyer relationships and process; commonly cited broker commissions run 20 to 33% of the sale price, and reputable brokers are selective about what they list. Marketplaces cost little but are passive, and passive listings mostly reach other sellers.

The channel decision follows from the valuation. A patent worth five figures cannot absorb a broker's minimum effort; a portfolio with strong evidence of use against large targets often should not go it alone.

Selling to a Fortune 500 buyer means showing, specifically, that their products or roadmap read on your claims and framing that as an opportunity rather than a threat. Find the hook: what the patent does for their product line, their competitive position, or their story to investors. In large companies a business development contact is often more receptive than the IP department, whose job is deflecting unsolicited assertions.

One caution matters more than the rest. If your outreach tells a company it is infringing, you can trigger a declaratory judgment action that puts you in court on their terms. How to communicate value without making an accusation is a legal line, and drawing it is work for a patent attorney. ipCG is a consultancy, not a law firm; we handle the economics, evidence of use, and campaign strategy, and we work alongside counsel on the rest.