The sale of most anything — patents, real estate, stocks — involves these four steps. But the sale of patents is unique due to the use of claim charts in the first step. Claim charts are detailed documents demanding esoteric, broad expertise.
In contrast, the other three steps require less expertise. Indeed, for many patents, these steps can be automated. Note that the use of claim charts in Step 1 buys us the bulk of Step 2.
Note that none of the various business models for selling patents is flawed per se. Instead, the onus is upon the companies executing these models to use claim charts in marketing.
