Shopping patent sells for almost £2.5 million at London auction
Published June 6th, 2007
The firm organising the auction Ocean Tomo, is a pioneer of live intellectual property auctions, having already held such sales in New York and Chicago in the past year.
The patent was for ‘Methods for internet shopping with a one-stop shopping cart’. Filed in 1997 by a New Zealand mother of three, the patent is for technology which allows a shopper to search for goods in the databases of several shops through one website.
“It is believed that this patented technology is critical for developing and controlling access to the online consumer,” said the auction brochure in describing US patent number 5,895,454. The patent sold for £2,475,000.
Ocean Tomo said that it plans to hold US auctions in spring and autumn and European auctions in summer. “We are extremely encouraged by the overwhelming support from the European IP community. Companies and inventors are already submitting IP for our next European auction just days after last week’s event,” said Andrew Ramer, president of Ocean Tomo.
The London auction was staged with the help of classic car auction specialists Gooding & Co. “Intellectual property auctions are rapidly developing into a world-recognized marketplace where IP can be sold not only efficiently but at world record prices,” said Gooding & Co’s David Gooding.
Share This Article by Email or Social Web
