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Somewhere between "I have a patent" and "someone paid me for it" sits a stretch of work most inventors have never done: valuing the asset, building evidence, finding buyers, reaching decision-makers, and negotiating with counterparties who do this for a living. A patent broker is a professional who does that stretch for a share of the outcome.
The market for that help contains genuinely excellent firms and some of the oldest scams in the inventing world, sometimes with similar-looking websites. This guide explains what brokers actually do, what they cost, when you need one, and how to tell the professionals from the promoters.
A legitimate brokerage engagement runs through five stages:
The standard model is contingency: the broker takes a percentage of what you receive, commonly 20–35%, occasionally with a modest engagement fee that covers hard costs like claim charting. Terms run 6–24 months, usually exclusive for the covered assets.
Two structural points to negotiate before signing:
A one-third commission sounds heavy until you compare it with the realistic alternative. A broker who gets $120,000 for a patent that would otherwise have sat unsold — or sold to the first bidder for $40,000 — earned the fee. The commission is only expensive when the broker adds nothing, which is why vetting is everything.
A broker adds real value when:
You can reasonably go direct when:
There is also a third model worth knowing: full-service IP firms that combine brokerage with licensing campaigns, product commercialization, and M&A advisory — useful when you are not yet sure which path your patent should take. This is ILG's model: we assess the asset first, then run whichever path the evidence supports.
A persistent industry preys on inventors with a very different business model: the money is made from you, not from deals. The FTC has prosecuted invention-promotion firms for decades, and the pattern is stable:
One legal protection worth knowing: the American Inventors Protection Act requires invention promoters to disclose, in writing, how many clients they have had and how many made more money than they paid. Ask for that disclosure by name. Refusal or evasion ends the conversation.
Ten questions, and what good answers sound like:
Then verify independently: search the firm's name with "complaint" and "scam," check state records and litigation history, and confirm the named team members actually exist and have the claimed backgrounds.
The right broker is leverage: relationships, evidence craft, and negotiation depth applied to your asset, paid mostly from results. The wrong one is a fee extraction machine dressed in the same language. The difference is visible in exactly two places — where the money flows, and whether the track record survives specific questions.
ILG has operated in patent licensing and commercialization for decades, with compensation built around outcomes and an assessment process that tells inventors the truth even when the truth is "this one won't sell." If you want that assessment on your patent, schedule a consultation.
A patent broker packages your patent (valuation, claim charts, marketing materials), identifies and approaches qualified buyers or licensees through existing relationships, runs the negotiation process, and manages the deal to closing. Good brokers earn their fee by reaching decision-makers you cannot and by knowing what comparable deals actually pay.
Commission-based brokers typically take 20–35% of the transaction outcome, sometimes with a modest engagement or marketing fee. Be cautious of large upfront fees with vague deliverables — legitimate brokers earn most of their compensation when you get paid. Always get the fee structure, term, and exclusivity scope in writing.
Not always. If your market is a small niche where you personally know the likely buyers, direct outreach can work. A broker makes sense when the buyers are corporations you cannot reach, when evidence packages need professional preparation, or when a negotiation needs experienced hands. The question is whether the broker's network and skill will add more than their commission.
Classic warning signs: large upfront fees ($5,000–$50,000) before any market validation, glowing 'evaluations' that praise every invention, pressure to sign quickly, vague claims about manufacturer networks, and no verifiable record of closed transactions. The FTC has repeatedly prosecuted invention-promotion firms — search the company name plus 'complaint' before signing anything.
Ask for their track record in your technology area, example transactions (even anonymized), how they build target lists and evidence, their fee structure and term, what happens if they don't sell, and who specifically will work your case. A legitimate broker answers all of this directly; evasion on any of them is your answer.
Talk through your situation with our team — no cost, no obligation.
Our team is happy to talk through your situation and explore your options.
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