Look Out for the Patent Yard Sale

The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which Motley Fool financial editors Andrew Tonner and Austin Smith discuss their favorite stocks.

In today's edition, Andrew and Austin give their thoughts on the patent yard sale that's been happening lately. Companies are trying to leverage their intellectual property in different ways -- some are trying to sell them for marked-up prices, others are bringing them to court hoping for a big win, and others are just wishing to get bought out by the biggest fish in the pond. Ultimately, investors should be careful about any company whose future is leveraged on patents because there is no way of telling where the chips may fall.

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At the time thisarticle was published Neither Austin Smith nor Andrew Tonner own shares of the companies mentioned in this video.The Motley Fool owns shares of Google and Apple. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of IMAX, InterDigital, Apple, and Google; and creating a bull call spread position in Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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