Their investors sure like them though. Patents are business assets that can be very important for valuation during exits or funding rounds. In most cases, due

Their investors sure like them though. Patents are business assets that can be very important for valuation during exits or funding rounds. In most cases, due diligence auditors are going to want to see a company's patent portfolio. A bad or weak portfolio may not tank the deal, but it certainly impacts valuation. I have seen this first hand, if BigCo is choosing between two or more companies to acquire, they are more likely to select the one with the stronger patent portfolio. edit-to-add: trademarks are very important too -- and often overlooked by startups until it is too late. Trademark trolls are real too.