<s>
An	O
intellectual	B-Application
property	I-Application
broker	I-Application
mediates	O
between	O
the	O
buyer	O
and	O
seller	O
of	O
intellectual	O
property	O
(	O
IP	O
)	O
and	O
may	O
manage	O
the	O
many	O
steps	O
in	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
creating	O
a	O
deal	O
with	O
regard	O
to	O
the	O
purchase	O
,	O
sale	O
,	O
license	O
,	O
or	O
marketing	O
of	O
intellectual	O
property	O
assets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
there	O
is	O
not	O
a	O
well	O
defined	O
market	O
around	O
the	O
buying	O
and	O
selling	O
of	O
patents	O
or	O
other	O
IP	O
assets	O
,	O
if	O
an	O
inventor	O
or	O
patent	O
owner	O
wants	O
to	O
monetize	O
their	O
asset	O
,	O
an	O
intellectual	B-Application
property	I-Application
broker	I-Application
can	O
help	O
by	O
serving	O
to	O
connect	O
the	O
inventor	O
or	O
patent	O
owner	O
with	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
interested	O
buyers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
in	O
bringing	O
buyers	O
and	O
sellers	O
together	O
,	O
an	O
intellectual	B-Application
property	I-Application
broker	I-Application
may	O
provide	O
any	O
or	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
following	O
services	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
estimated	O
number	O
of	O
patent	B-Application
brokers	I-Application
varies	O
greatly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
1999	O
World	O
Intellectual	O
Property	O
Organization	O
WIPO	O
paper	O
estimated	O
500	O
"	O
patent	B-Application
brokers	I-Application
"	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
in	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
none	O
of	O
these	O
firms	O
have	O
a	O
large	O
number	O
of	O
employees	O
,	O
the	O
1999	O
estimates	O
are	O
either	O
wrong	O
as	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
businesses	O
operating	O
as	O
patent	B-Application
brokers	I-Application
does	O
not	O
match	O
the	O
1999	O
patent	B-Application
brokers	I-Application
estimates	O
,	O
or	O
there	O
has	O
been	O
a	O
significant	O
decline	O
in	O
the	O
market	O
for	O
patent	O
brokerage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
research	O
is	O
required	O
to	O
estimate	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
patent	B-Application
brokers	I-Application
.	O
</s>
