System for identifying potential licensees of a source patent portfolio

A computer program product comprising:

• a computer usable medium;
• computer readable instructions embodied on said computer useable medium for determining potential licensees for a source patent portfolio comprising one or more patents, the instructions directing a computer to perform the steps of:
• devising a set of associated patents wherein each patent in the set of associated patents 1) cites as a reference a patent in the source patent portfolio or ii) is cited as a reference by a patent in the source patent portfolio;
• processing all of the patents in the set of associated patents to establish a set of assignees contained in the set of associated patents;
• establishing a set of remaining assignees by removing from the set of assignees all assignees that are currently licensed;
• and
• organizing the set of remaining assignees according to a ranking criteria that causes a higher ranking to be given to any assignee when the following ratio is greater for that assignee than for other assignees, and wherein the ranking criteria gives more weight assignees both i) having patents that have a reference to a patent in the source patent portfolio and ii) having patents that are cited as a reference by a patent in the source patent portfolio:
• assignee's patents in the set of associated patents:
• all patents held by assignee.

A system for determining potential licensees for a source patent portfolio comprising one or more patents where each patent has one or more references cited thereto, the system comprising:

• means for devising a set of associated patents wherein each patent in the set of associated patents i) cites as a reference a patent in the source patent portfolio or ii) is cited as reference by a patent in the source patent portfolio;
• means for processing all of the patents in the set of associated patents to establish a set of assignees contained in the set of associated patents;
• means for establishing a set of remaining assignees by removing from the set of assignees all assignees that are currently licensed;
• and
• means for organizing the set of remaining assignees according to a ranking criteria that causes a higher ranking to be given to any assignee when the following ratio is greater for that assignee than for other assignees, wherein the ranking criteria gives more weight to assignees both i) having patents that have a reference to a patent in the source patent portfolio and ii) having patents that are cited as a reference by a patent in the source patent portfolio:
• assignee's patents in the set of associated patents:
• all patents held by assignee.