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Technology Stocks : Open Market (OMKT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Doug (Htfd,CT) who wrote (581)	8/28/1998 1:05:00 AM
From: Marty	Respond to of 2004

Thanks for the link, Doug. It is comforting in this world of pain to get a confirmation that the patents that were so exciting months ago may very well be viable after all. But it is a long time from March to August and this stock, with all its promise, has taken an inordinate beating percentage-wise. Could it be that the majority of people who sold over the ones who bought, driving the price down, during this period know something that the rest of us still too long faithful don't know? Is it too expensive to prosecute the damn things? Do we have to defend them more often than we can afford? Have they got some terrible flaw? How come by now everyone isn't dropping coins in our cup every time something is added to a virtual shopping cart? How come the analysts who are supposed to sniff out huge internet opportunities can't see the obvious... that some day this is what should be happening? How come some internet stocks and ecommerce stocks (for example, say, Amazon who presumably uses our patented technology) skyrocket in price while ours plummets? These are plain questions. I thought months ago that OMKT should be making a deal with IBM. They have the money, our patented technology fits in with their ecommerce drive, and they know what to do with patents. Problem is that now they could probably buy us out for $15 a share and a few months ago it would have been $40. Obviously, there are some dynamics in play that account for the inescapable fact the marketplace just doesn't put a high value on our prospects... in fact, it is punishing us inordinately for over valuing them all along. I would love to know what they are. (Conspiracy theorists need not respond.)

To: Doug (Htfd,CT) who wrote (581)	8/28/1998 1:13:00 PM
From: Marty	Respond to of 2004

I stumbled across a November 1997 article that has some of the reasons feel an IBM/OMKT deal would be great for both companies. OMKT may well have some of the most potentially valuable patents in the Internet side of e-commerce. IBM has the right attitude and experience to make the most of them, not to mention anything else OMKT brings to the table. Excerpts from the article follow: "We believe recognition of intellectual property rights as they apply to both hardware and software products is significant, as IBM seeks to protect its patented inventions and receive consideration when others use them," said Marshall Phelps, IBM vice president of intellectual property and licensing, in a statement. IBM, which owns what is regarded as the world's largest portfolio of patents on hardware and software, has been engaged in a rigorous legal campaign to collect patent royalties. The Novell agreement marks the 52nd intellectual property agreement that IBM has entered into with software companies this year, the company said. The two companies had been negotiating this agreement for a year, said Jay Cadmus, an IBM spokesman. Last year, IBM collected $900 million in royalties on all patents -- including such patents as the method for facilitating the configuration of programs. Thus far, IBM has settled all of its intellectual property cases out of court. "IBM invests significant amounts of its time and resources in the research and development of new software inventions," Phelps said. "While we believe it is advantageous to the industry and our customers for IBM to make these inventions available through license agreements, we also have a responsibility to protect our investment by enforcing our patents." ============== Wouldn't you love to have guys like THIS representing your patent interests? I feel like a matchmaker, describing a potential groom to a potential bride. I just hope the potential groom is interested.