Quintura, which operates its own visual approach to web search and licenses the technology to third parties, says it’s sold its patents to the technology for $600,000 to an unnamed buyer.
The money funded the recent launch of several mobile apps and new products. CEO Yakov Sadchikov tells paidContent:UK the buyer is “a newly registered, ‘clean’ company”.
The company had recently touted the supposed value of its patents, when it complained that Google (NSDQ: GOOG), through its Wonder Wheel search results format, was infringing them. Wonder Wheel is no longer accessible from Google and Google has not yet clarified the reason for us.
Sadchikov tells paidContent:UK…
“We sold the patents for some $600,000, which is four times more than we invested into them.
“We got a back license to use them for free in our services, apps, etc. In addition, if someone would like to acquire Quintura, the license will be transferable.
“We sold because we received a good offer. It valued the patents several times more than we invested into them. Besides, the patents cover the U.S. market only.”
“We completed a deal in less than two months, which is very fast for this type of deal.
“|We invested cash from the patent sale into developing mobile apps as well as improving our kids-friendly search at QuinturaKids.
QuinturaKids has just gone live as a mobile app on Nokia’s Ovi Store.