Company holds patents in e-commerce, domain registration, and internet spaces.
I’ve written numerous times about Go Daddy’s patent applications. It seems like each time people chastise the company for filing its patents. But the company’s patent portfolio (and patent applications) could be a big part of the company’s value if it chooses to sell.
The company has 24 approved patents under the Go Daddy name, ranging from humdingers such as “Systems and methods for domain name registration by proxy” to niche applications such as “Document color and shades of gray optimization using solid monochrome colors”.
Go Daddy’s backlog of patent applications is even more impressive, totaling 151 under the Go Daddy name.
So far Go Daddy has used its patent war chest only for defensive purposes. Yet a potential acquirer might look at the portfolio as a way to squeeze infringers for money.
One company that may benefit from the patents is Google. Three years ago I wrote:
GoDaddy has also filed some interested patents that may play in Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) court. One patent would allow for search results to be filtered according to the reputation score of a domain name or that domain name owner’s reputation. Google already uses domain expiration data in its search algorithm.
Here’s a wild thought. Would Google ever acquire GoDaddy? Google would get its hands on reams of data about the very domain names it is indexing, as well acquire its patent portfolio. (Google already has a deal with GoDaddy to provide domain names.)
I don’t think Google is a good match for Go Daddy for other reasons, but they must be at least taking a look. That can be said of many other companies — and it may have just as much to do with its patents as its huge customer base.
Batfan says
Oh man, what a powerhouse they would be. I wouldn’t be surprised if Google acquired them though. They’ve already got a bit of a partnership going on.
JimBob says
http://GoDummy.com shows a look a like Bob Parsons Cop and a small picture of Bob with the 3 Stooges the only real lesson here is “Early to Bed, Early to Rise…Advertise-Advertise-Advertise!”
Steve M says
… and that’s only the US patent portfolio. I’ve haven’t checked, but if Bob’s as smart as he is, there may be 100’s of the same patents & filings in at least the other major countries of the world.
Given what companies like IBM and Microsoft are earning from various of their patents, Bob’s IP portfolio could be worth 100+ million by itself.
domain guy says
there is nothing wild about google buying godaddy.
a patent portfolio is an intellectual property portfolio.ip is very valuable.there are ip lawyers that just buy patents and then go after claims ie rim 620 million dollar settlement.google uses its data internallY. domainers are already aware how g pays pennies while end users pay dollars for a search term.
NY Patent Attorney says
go daddy would be a great npe if it ever wanted to.