ThinkFire's Hoffman on IP dealmaking in the dowturn

Steven Hoffman, CEO of ThinkFire Services USA Ltd., the intellectual property advisory and transactions firm, recently came by our offices. In this edition of Inside the Deal, he brings us up to date on how his field is faring.

ThinkFire is one of a handful of firms in the vanguard of efforts to monetize intellectual property and even establish it as an asset class of sorts. It's still a young field, but it does boast some major players such as IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM), long known for its success in selling and out-licensing patents, and Intellectual Ventures, the giant and some say intimidating IP repository started by former Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) exec Nathan Myhrvold.

In our video interview, Hoffman discusses how the tough economy is pushing more companies to try to monetize IP assets, even as it also cuts down on the number of buyers and licensors. Meanwhile, Hoffman says, the fight between so-called patent trolls and corporate patent holders continues. Last fall RPX Corp., a new patent service backed by IBM, Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) and others came on the scene. See the video below or download it at iTunes

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