Allied Security Trust
Encyclopedia
Allied Security Trust is a member based patent holding company
that helps protect members from patent infringement lawsuits by non-practicing entities
.
Turning to the key function of buy-side decision making – i.e., determining which patents to purchase – AST radiates out such authority to the extremities of the organization, where individual members decide whether to ante up funds on a case-by-case basis. The offices of the AST then serves to aggregate these funds and formulate a bid. RPX is quite different, in that the RPX team, not any one member or collective of members, ultimately controls the power over how best to deploy its multi-million dollar war chest. Given the broad membership base of the organization (many different industries are represented), generally speaking RXP prefers to acquire patents that have an impact across multiple industries.
What is interesting about these fundamentally different processes is that, at least in theory, the AST process potentially taps into an intellectual wherewithal unrivaled in the market (think of the hundreds of senior engineers at each of the 20 or so AST members – that suggests some 2,000 highly skilled engineers in all). Collectively this distributed AST network of technical experts offers truly awesome knowledge base. However, in practice, it is probably fair to state that not all corporate AST members have devoted the necessary resources such that they have succeeded in establishing a robust internal means of consistently evaluating patents in a timely fashion. And if time is of the essence, as it often is, then the centralized RPX decision making process is likely to be advantaged.
Patent holding company
Patent holding companies are companies set up to administer, consolidate and license patents or otherwise enforce patent rights, such as through litigation...
that helps protect members from patent infringement lawsuits by non-practicing entities
Patent troll
Patent troll is a pejorative but questioned term used for a person or company who is a non-practicing inventor, and buys and enforces patents against one or more alleged infringers in a manner considered by the target or observers as unduly aggressive or opportunistic, often with no intention to...
.
Business
Members each contribute to the operating expense of the trust, and hold funds in escrow for the purchase of patents. Each member's escrow funds are used for the purchase of only those patents that they are interested in. The members involved in the purchase are then licensed to the patents. After a certain period of time, the patents are sold or donated. This is known as a catch and release strategy. AST does not litigate.Turning to the key function of buy-side decision making – i.e., determining which patents to purchase – AST radiates out such authority to the extremities of the organization, where individual members decide whether to ante up funds on a case-by-case basis. The offices of the AST then serves to aggregate these funds and formulate a bid. RPX is quite different, in that the RPX team, not any one member or collective of members, ultimately controls the power over how best to deploy its multi-million dollar war chest. Given the broad membership base of the organization (many different industries are represented), generally speaking RXP prefers to acquire patents that have an impact across multiple industries.
What is interesting about these fundamentally different processes is that, at least in theory, the AST process potentially taps into an intellectual wherewithal unrivaled in the market (think of the hundreds of senior engineers at each of the 20 or so AST members – that suggests some 2,000 highly skilled engineers in all). Collectively this distributed AST network of technical experts offers truly awesome knowledge base. However, in practice, it is probably fair to state that not all corporate AST members have devoted the necessary resources such that they have succeeded in establishing a robust internal means of consistently evaluating patents in a timely fashion. And if time is of the essence, as it often is, then the centralized RPX decision making process is likely to be advantaged.
Members
Allied Security Trust has 11 public members, including:- Sun MicrosystemsSun MicrosystemsSun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
- MotorolaMotorolaMotorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
- Hewlett-PackardHewlett-PackardHewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
- Verizon CommunicationsVerizon CommunicationsVerizon Communications Inc. is a global broadband and telecommunications company and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average...
- Cisco SystemsCisco SystemsCisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
- GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
- EricssonEricssonEricsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...