Guides
Plain answers to the questions that follow a granted patent.
Who pays for it, what brokers will not take, how to license claims that reach past your own product, who does what, and how program funds can help. Written by Mike Dayton for owners of security, identity, and trust technology and the counsel who advise them.
By situation
Start from where the patent is today.
No pitch yet
Patent granted, now what? The first ninety days for a security, identity, or trust patent
The deadlines to calendar, the mail to ignore, and the commercial questions to answer before the grant goes cold.
Updated Read the guidePatent to product: what is a product read, and how does it differ from invention promotion?
What a written product read delivers, what it is not, and how to tell it apart from invention promotion.
Updated Read the guideNo market answer yet
Who pays for this patent? A buyer map for security, identity, and trust technology
How to find licensees: the seats and budget lines that pay, the licensee ladder, and how to grade what you know.
Updated Read the guideCan TABA pay for a licensing read? SBIR Phase I and II commercialization assistance for cybersecurity awardees
How SBIR and STTR TABA works, what it can pay for, how agencies differ, and how to choose and budget a provider.
Updated Read the guideShould you sell or license your patent? The keep-your-title decision
How a sale and a license differ, who buys and what they pay, what a sale can mean for your customers, and a checklist for the decision.
Updated Read the guideHow do you license a cybersecurity patent? A field guide for security, identity, and trust technology
How to license a security, identity, or fraud patent: the product, the buyer, the standards and award checks, and the first package.
Updated Read the guideIs your patent encumbered by FIDO or web standards? Questions for counsel before you pitch
What the FIDO, web standards, IETF, and EMVCo patent policies say, the facts to gather, and what to ask counsel before you pitch.
Updated Read the guideWho buys authentication and fraud patents? The corporate development view
The buyer categories for identity, authentication, and fraud patents, who decides inside each, and what buyers say gets a deal done.
Updated Read the guideHow does an SBIR Phase II cybersecurity company get from a transition program to a licensee?
From a funded cybersecurity prototype to a commercial licensee: Phase III, transition programs, TABA caps, and the commercial answer.
Updated Read the guideAlready in market
Your product uses the patent and your claims reach three other markets: what do you do?
For companies that ship the patented technology: find the markets your claims reach, screen for conflicts, and license by field.
Updated Read the guideCan you license a post-quantum cryptography patent after NIST's royalty-free precedent?
What NIST's royalty-free precedent means for post-quantum patent owners, the migration schedule buyers face, and where licensing room remains.
Updated Read the guideWhat royalty rates do authentication and fraud patents earn? What the published surveys say
What open royalty surveys report for high-technology licenses, each with its sample and date, and how to use them without mistaking them for a price.
Updated Read the guideMarket already known
Why did the patent brokers not call back? The single-patent problem and what works instead
How brokers screen, why most listed packages never sell, and what to do when you already know who needs the patent.
Updated Read the guidePatent commercialization firms, brokers, and marketplaces: a market map, 2026
Brokers, monetization firms, analytics vendors, marketplaces, defensive buyers, and program providers: what each does and charges, as published.
Updated Read the guidePatent broker fees and minimums: what do brokers charge, and why do they decline most patents?
Published broker fee ranges, value thresholds, and a large buyer's stated floor, each sourced and dated, and what to do below the line.
Updated Read the guideHow long does it take to sell or license a patent? A one-week review versus a twelve-month listing
Published sale timelines, what an exclusive listing locks up, and what a short written review can settle before you list or approach a buyer.
Updated Read the guideBy reader
For the people owners ask first.
For patent counsel
Patent granted, now what? The first ninety days for a security, identity, or trust patent
The deadlines to calendar, the mail to ignore, and the commercial questions to answer before the grant goes cold.
Updated Read the guideYour product uses the patent and your claims reach three other markets: what do you do?
For companies that ship the patented technology: find the markets your claims reach, screen for conflicts, and license by field.
Updated Read the guideWhy did the patent brokers not call back? The single-patent problem and what works instead
How brokers screen, why most listed packages never sell, and what to do when you already know who needs the patent.
Updated Read the guideBroker, licensing consultant, patent attorney, or commercialization firm: who does what, and what will each not do?
What a broker, a patent attorney, a licensing consultant, and a commercialization firm each do, and what each will not do.
Updated Read the guideFor patent attorneys: what do you say when a client asks how to make money from a granted patent?
For counsel: the questions to ask a client after grant, when to refer the commercial work, and how to keep the referral clean.
Updated Read the guidePatent to product: what is a product read, and how does it differ from invention promotion?
What a written product read delivers, what it is not, and how to tell it apart from invention promotion.
Updated Read the guidePatent commercialization firms, brokers, and marketplaces: a market map, 2026
Brokers, monetization firms, analytics vendors, marketplaces, defensive buyers, and program providers: what each does and charges, as published.
Updated Read the guidePatent broker fees and minimums: what do brokers charge, and why do they decline most patents?
Published broker fee ranges, value thresholds, and a large buyer's stated floor, each sourced and dated, and what to do below the line.
Updated Read the guideShould you sell or license your patent? The keep-your-title decision
How a sale and a license differ, who buys and what they pay, what a sale can mean for your customers, and a checklist for the decision.
Updated Read the guideHow long does it take to sell or license a patent? A one-week review versus a twelve-month listing
Published sale timelines, what an exclusive listing locks up, and what a short written review can settle before you list or approach a buyer.
Updated Read the guideIs your patent encumbered by FIDO or web standards? Questions for counsel before you pitch
What the FIDO, web standards, IETF, and EMVCo patent policies say, the facts to gather, and what to ask counsel before you pitch.
Updated Read the guideCan you license a post-quantum cryptography patent after NIST's royalty-free precedent?
What NIST's royalty-free precedent means for post-quantum patent owners, the migration schedule buyers face, and where licensing room remains.
Updated Read the guideWhat royalty rates do authentication and fraud patents earn? What the published surveys say
What open royalty surveys report for high-technology licenses, each with its sample and date, and how to use them without mistaking them for a price.
Updated Read the guideFor program and accelerator directors
Broker, licensing consultant, patent attorney, or commercialization firm: who does what, and what will each not do?
What a broker, a patent attorney, a licensing consultant, and a commercialization firm each do, and what each will not do.
Updated Read the guideCan TABA pay for a licensing read? SBIR Phase I and II commercialization assistance for cybersecurity awardees
How SBIR and STTR TABA works, what it can pay for, how agencies differ, and how to choose and budget a provider.
Updated Read the guidePatent commercialization firms, brokers, and marketplaces: a market map, 2026
Brokers, monetization firms, analytics vendors, marketplaces, defensive buyers, and program providers: what each does and charges, as published.
Updated Read the guideHow does an SBIR Phase II cybersecurity company get from a transition program to a licensee?
From a funded cybersecurity prototype to a commercial licensee: Phase III, transition programs, TABA caps, and the commercial answer.
Updated Read the guideNot sure which question is yours?
Bring the patent number and what you are being asked for right now. You get a plain answer on which read fits, or whether none does yet.