§Patent Brokerage
Buy patents that fill a specific gap
Patent Acquisition is buy-side sourcing. We turn your strategy into written criteria, find available assets through brokers, marketplaces, and direct owner outreach, and screen them technically. Your identity stays protected until you choose to reveal it.
- Typical turnaround
- 3–6 weeks for a sourced shortlist
- Best for
- Companies filling a coverage gap, entering a new market, or adding defensive depth
- You receive
- Written criteria, a screened shortlist, and a data pack on each finalist
- Delivered to
- You and your patent counsel
§ 01Deliverables
What you receive
Acquisition criteria brief
Technology, claim features of interest, jurisdictions, minimum remaining term, and deal-breakers, written down and agreed with you before sourcing starts.
Sourced longlist
Assets on the market through brokers and marketplaces, plus off-market assets found through search and direct owner outreach.
Technical screening
Analysts map each candidate’s claims against your target technology or product features. The mapping is technical, prepared for your counsel’s review.
Shortlist with data packs
For each finalist, an IP due-diligence data pack: family map, recorded assignments, status, citations, and public dockets.
Outreach log
Who we contacted, when, through which channel, and what they said, without naming you. You see the whole sourcing effort, not just the winners.
Transaction coordination
Data requests, calls, and timelines coordinated with the seller’s side and your counsel, who drafts and negotiates the purchase agreement.
§ 02Overview
When teams use it
Closing a gap competitors are filing into
A patent landscape shows where others are building. Acquisition can add coverage there faster than new filings can.
Entering a new market
An issued family with years of term left gives you a position on day one, instead of after your own applications work through examination.
Adding defensive depth
Assets that matter to the companies you compete with can strengthen your position in future conversations with them. See how we support corporate IP and R&D teams.
16Buying technology, not just patents
When the goal is a working solution to a technical problem, start with Technology Scouting, then acquire or license what it finds.
§ 03Process
How it works
- 01
Define the criteria
A free 20–30-minute scoping call, then a written criteria brief. You get a fixed-fee written quote within one business day of the call.
- 02
Source widely
We review listed inventory from brokers and marketplaces, then search for off-market assets and approach owners directly, without naming you.
- 03
Screen technically
Analysts read every candidate against the criteria. A second analyst reviews the shortlist before it reaches you.
- 04
Shortlist and data packs
Finalists arrive with data packs and a plain note on fit, risks to check, and open questions for your counsel.
- 05
Coordinate the purchase
When you choose an asset, we coordinate data requests and timelines while your counsel handles diligence opinions and the agreement.
§ 04Insight
The patents you need are often not for sale yet
Companies that buy patents usually start with whatever the brokers are showing that quarter. Listed inventory is a fine place to look, but it is somebody else’s shortlist, assembled for somebody else’s needs.
Off-market sourcing finds the rest. Public records hold useful signals: an owner whose 7.5- or 11.5-year maintenance fee is approaching, an assignee that has stopped filing in the field, a small company whose patents other companies cite again and again. None of these means an owner will sell. Each is a reason to ask, quietly.
Good buy-side work behaves like a tuned magnet: it lifts only the pieces that complete your picture. That is why the criteria come first and stay in writing. They keep sourcing honest, stop a shiny asset from pulling the search off course, and give your counsel a clear record of why each finalist made the list.
Confidentiality matters more on the buy side than most buyers expect. If the market learns who is buying, prices move and owners hold out. We approach brokers and owners without naming you, and your identity is disclosed only when you decide.
Listed inventory is somebody else’s shortlist.
§ 05 — Boundaries
What this is not
- No opinions on validity, title, or freedom to operate. Your counsel gives those.
- We don’t draft or negotiate purchase agreements.
- We don’t finance purchases or arrange investment of any kind.
- No promise that an owner will sell, or at what price.
§ 06Questions
Questions about buying patents
Something else on your mind? Call (505) 357-5188 or write to info@metadragons.com.
How do you keep our identity confidential?
We approach brokers and owners in our own name, describe the interest in general terms, and never name you without your approval. We sign an NDA with you before you share your strategy.
Can you evaluate a patent we have already been offered?
Yes. We can screen a single offered asset against your criteria and prepare a data pack on it, without running a full sourcing campaign.
Do you source outside the United States?
Yes, where public data supports it. The criteria brief states the jurisdictions you need, and the screening covers family members in each.
How is buy-side work priced?
Sourcing and screening are quoted as a fixed fee after a free scoping call. If you want us to coordinate a purchase, any success-based terms are agreed in writing before outreach begins.
What do you need from us to start?
The business goal, the technology area, any must-have features or jurisdictions, and a sense of timing. Budget stays private unless you want it to shape the search.
Keep reading
Where to go next
§Next step
Tell us what is missing
Describe the gap you need to fill. After a free 20–30-minute scoping call, you’ll have a fixed-fee written quote within one business day and a sourced shortlist in 3–6 weeks.