Yahoo, Verizon Deal Clears Way for Patent Sale

By Joseph Marks, Bloomberg BNA

Yahoo’s sale of its core internet business to Verizon on Monday opens the door for the company’s next major step — the sale of more than 3,000 granted and pending patents covering e-commerce, search and other components of the modern web.

Bidders for the patent package include a mix of operating companies and those interested in monetizing the patents through licensing, according to people familiar with the process.

Yahoo is also holding out the possibility of monetizing the patents itself through a licensing campaign, a spokeswoman told Bloomberg BNA. If that happens, the patents will ...