Patent Portfolio Could Be Big Draw in Sale — Go Daddy’s

Firm holds patents in e-commerce, domain registration, and internet spaces.

I’ve written numerous times regarding Go Daddy’s patent applications. It seems like each time people chastise the firm for filing its patents. But the firm’s patent portfolio (and patent applications) could be a big part of the firm’s value if it chooses to sell.

The firm 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 firm 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 as stated by the reputation score of a domain name or that domain name owner’s reputation. Google by now 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 regarding the very domain names it is indexing, as well acquire its patent portfolio. (Google by now 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 stated of many other firms — and it may have just as much to do with its patents as its huge client base.