An innovativeChicago intellectual property firm is creating a live auction marketplace, which is rare in an age where many companies are shifting their business online.

More than 200 attended Ocean Tomo Auctions LLC’s auction Thursday at the Union League Club of Chicago. It was the third such event hosted by Ocean Tomo.

“This is like the Christie’s or Sotheby’s of patent auctions,” said George Kelakos of Kelakos Advisors LLC.

Opening bids ranged from $10,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Bids were solicited in at least $5,000 increments.

“The main advantage of the auction is simply that it is one-stop shopping for patents,” said Bruce Lehman, former head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. “There really isn’t any other place you can go to get a wide variety of patents.”

Many winning bids came from anonymous buyers by phone. More than 50 lots were auctioned, with patents ranging from medical devices to e-commerce software.

Posted: 04|20|07 at 3:39 pm. Filed under: Auction News.