Patent activity precedes market activity, which also means that a troubled IP portfolio can precede future business woes. Templum appeared to be an early entrant into the alternative investment trading space, with eight applications publishing in 2019 alone. However, it appears that Templum has squandered any advantage it may have gained from its early filings. Given how many patents Templum had filed in such a short period of time, and that several of those applications had been filed as expensive, but quick Track One filings, Templum appeared to be all in on IP, but it appears that enthusiasm has waned. 

Templum currently has no granted patents and all of its applications are abandoned. It’s worth noting that patents for securities tokenization platforms can be difficult to get, especially in light of the Bilski and Alice decisions in the early 2010s, which struck down many business method patents. However, given that both CartaX and Equity Shift have had patents allowed in the space, this excuse holds little water. Where Templum at first seemed an early entrant, it now risks being crowded out of the space entirely by companies with more rigorous IP protection. 

Recently, Templum received an undisclosed amount of funding by the WestCap Group, a growth equity fund, which seeks to leverage Templum to gain a foothold in the alternative assets industry, which is set to explode to over $17 trillion in assets under management by 2025. WestCap Group may encourage Templum to patent more, but with its early applications all abandoned and its competitors actively patenting in the space, it may be too late. For more on alternative investments platforms, follow the Securities Tokenization Patent Forecast®!