Patent Licensing
		BellSouth has a large and rapidly-growing patent portfolio that protects BellSouth’s inventions. BellSouth Intellectual Property Marketing Corporation (BIPMARK) is the exclusive patent outmarketing arm for BellSouth. BIPMARK generates value from BellSouth’s patents in two primary ways: patent licensing and patent sales. BIPMARK licenses BellSouth’s patents to other companies in various ways. One scenario is finding companies to commercialize inventions covered by BellSouth patents. In this case, BIPMARK licenses the patents to those companies, works with them to implement the invention and collects a royalty on sales. In another licensing scenario, BIPMARK identifies other companies that are using BellSouth’s patents without permission. In that case, BIPMARK will contact the infringing company to reach an agreement for a license of the patent. If the company does not wish to enter into the license agreement, BellSouth may be required to file a patent infringement lawsuit against the company to protect its rights. A third scenario occurs when a vendor creates patentable inventions during the course of its work for BellSouth. In most cases, BellSouth’s contract with the vendor mandates that BellSouth retain ownership of such inventions and that BellSouth will file for a patent for each invention. If the vendor wishes to use the inventions in other products to be sold to companies other than BellSouth, BIPMARK will enter into a patent license agreement with the vendor in exchange for value. BIPMARK also sells certain BellSouth patents in non-core technologies. A careful review is performed by BIPMARK to ensure that such a sale is appropriate and is for sufficient value. These approaches have resulted in many valuable patent licensing and sales transactions. As a result, BellSouth receives significant value from its patent portfolio through BIPMARK’s efforts.