Forbes reports that a portion of Eastman Kodak's intellectual property portfolio will be sold in bankruptcy proceedings for just over half a billion dollars.  The buyers are myriad -- Apple, Google, Samsung and Facebook are leading contenders.  And the deal is brokered by Intellectual Ventures, a non-practicing entity widely reviled as a patent troll.  

One wonders how the value of these patent monopolies will be diluted by divvying up these spoils among so many competitors.  One also wonders why all these companies are getting in bed with Intellectual Ventures, which adds greatly to its credibility and clout.  

Kodak's IP portfolio is deep and broad, as described by NY's Jewish Voice website.  Kodak even argued during bankruptcy proceedings that Apple owed it over $1 billion in patent royalties, so it remains to be seen whether this purchase will be set-off against any of those alleged backpayments.  

At one point, Kodak claimed its IP portfolio was worth as much as $2.6 billion.  The deal must still be approved by the bankruptcy court, but it's looking good -- loans were extended to Kodak on the condition that its IP portfolio was sold for more than $500m, and it just barely made it.  

Today's Wall Street Journal highlighted a tricky area for businesses.  The music-streaming company Pandora is struggling to stay in the black in light of increasing royalty fees due to licensing the music it streams. 

Companies young and old can get in this bind:  you need business to be in business, so you negotiate terms.  Unforeseen and unforeseeable things happen, and the terms stop being tolerable.  What's a company to do?  Without paying the license fees, Pandora has no material with which to attract users to its site, and advertisers will pay less to access that audience. 

If you business model is attracting advertizing dollars rather than selling a product, an increase in the cost of attracting an audience is your greatest fear.  Pandora does have a hybrid model, where they generate revenue both from advertizers and subscription costs, but it's at the mercy of the royalty rates negotiated earlier.

When you're building your business plan, it's important to be realistic (and not overly optimistic, a common pratfall).  Part of that reality-check is expecting things to change, and building in escape hatches in your long-term agreements.  Pandora is now in a position where they are trying to lobby the government to lower the cap on music royalties, a move that is not popular with artists.  Try to avoid that last resort!