Another small startup gains another interesting patent on mobile payments and NFC. DeviceFidelity’s latest is an interesting one with some potential. We’ve seen how big companies sue each other over IP, or patent troll firms sue them as well. We don’t see small firms do it because they aren’t in the business of doing so and can’t afford it either. What I’m seeing now is a convergence of opportunities for Big Firms and Patent Trolls.  

Mobile wallet IP and NFC IP are going to be extremely hot, not simply because of the buzz, but because they literally affect everything from the future of payments, coupons, loyalty, advertising, marketing, transit, access control, to so much more. This is probably the best IP opportunity for smart companies and investors to begin buying now, at the beginning of the mobile wallet and NFC revolution.

DeviceFidelity isn’t alone with good IP. A few companies have some nice IP for this area, including their direct competitors such as Tyfone. While these companies may have started off to make their fortunes in selling their wears and services, the reality is that their best bet now is to use their powerful IP as a value proposition for purchase. This doesn’t mean the end of these companies, but an opportunity. They can raise large amounts of cash and incorporate free licensing of their own IP back to themselves. This is done pretty often so it’s a win-win for these firms. 

A while back we saw IP buying get pretty hot and heavy. Some companies overpriced their IP and got nowhere; other companies bought IP without doing the right due diligence only to realize their IP had little legs to stand on. Now firms are smarter and are looking more strategically when examining the IP they purchase. Let’s hope that the IP sellers don’t make the same mistakes that companies like Groupon have made when they were offered a sale. Greed is not good in this case, so be smart. Don’t under sell and don’t over sell. 

I have a good friend in the IP sales business. He has told me repeatedly over the past two months how hot things are getting. It will only get hotter as NFC and mobile wallet offerings enter the market. Those who might think this technology will fail have to understand that most of the infrastructure is there. And the use case is one that even my parents, who grew up watching the Jetson’s, understand. It’s ingrained from preschool even for baby boomers. Mobile payments will eventually be the mainstream. It’s inevitable. And as I said in a prior blog post, NFC will be the key representing at least 95 percent of the global use cases for mobile payments in brick and mortars. 

It’s no longer the heyday for stocks. Real-estate investing is still slow and tricky. Government bonds (Can you say Greece?) and corporate bonds won’t give you the best returns. Yet cash is everywhere out there with no place to go for growth. I see some companies like Visa (or hedge funds or carriers or patent trolls or high net investors) seeing the light very, very soon. It’s IP buying season and the hunt is on, so be ready “wascally wabbits” (patents). The right investors (hunters) can make a killing in licensing for the next 10 to 20 years, but only if the smart sellers sell it at the right price.

With that said, my advice to anyone looking for hundreds, or even tens, of millions on IP suits: start smoking a different drug. You don’t have the cash to go out and sue everyone. For most patents it will be in the single digit millions. Some rare few deserve $10 million to $20 million. And a good number will get zero because they deserve it. Mobile payments IP will be the most difficult to win and sell because there are too many components to the mobile payments process, so those buying need to understand the whole ecosystem and process. Many of those patents can be circumvented with some innovative new processes. NFC patents are the better bet. They are still a relatively new technology, and the business process of NFC, rather than the hardware itself, is something that can be a big win. Remember, NFC as a mainstream acronym is recent, but at its core, NFC is a long established set of frequencies and specifications.

Let the bidding begin!

Related Content

• 
  Study identifies a new consumer species: the …
• 
  MasterCard releases new global index measuring …
• 
  Retailers wary of mobile payments

• Get help from all our vendors with one click.