Response: The Value of Intellectual Property

In response to my friend Justin Yee’s post on the intellectual property of Blackberry, I completely agree with his statement that Blackberry’s technology’s popularity coincided with when the smartphone maker itself was popular. However, despite its current situation, there is definite value in Blackberry’s intellectual property portfolio. Blackberry’s popularity was largely due to its endorsement from governments and large corporations. Their encryption technology, such as encrypted e-mail and messaging service, prevents sensitive data from being obtained.

Whether or not the company decides to sell its patents to enhance their recovery process is still up for debate. Despite its unsuccessful attempt in the consumer smartphone industry with the Z10, Blackberry still hold extremely valuable technology which can save the giant in the government and corporate smartphone market. If Blackberry does choose proceed with its corporate business, it may prove to be successful once again. We can not also disregard the $2.7-billion of cash Blackberry still possesses on its balance sheet when talking about take over. If Blackberry were to be taken private, the company still become profitable through its current customer segments.