But the S.F. Show Will Go On.

Dean Becker, president of ICAP Ocean Tomo, which hosts public auctions for patents, has canceled the event slated for early November in Paris, citing timing issues.

We will be writing about this at length in our October issue.

But in essence, a growing number of corporate buyers, he said, “needed much more time for diligence between now and the Paris date.” Many of those want to buy patents “for defensive reasons, to protect their product lines.”

The change of plans marks a reversal from his earlier thinking that IP lots needed to be published closer to the actual auction. In fact, ICAP Ocean Tomo won’t be publishing a printed catalog before the next auction, scheduled for spring 2010 in San Francisco. It will be available online, updated on the fly. A printed edition will be available for those attending.

Although most lots from the previous July event – which posted dismal results – were bought after the floor bidding, he said new corporate and government buyers have expressed a desire for an open, public auction and that the model is viable and valid.

He said the spring 2010 auction, like the July event, will reveal reserve bids, but he declined to detail other adjustments.

“You will see a lot of exciting changes,” he said. “We have a multiyear plan and we’re going to stick to it.”

Stay tuned.