When we developed the procedures at RPE, we realized that we needed a novel terminology for simplifying explanations and avoiding confusion. Here are our definitions of some of the terms we use at the site:
Seeker: A member of the RPE community acting in a transaction in the role of an anonymous party trying to acquire patent assets.
Holder: A member of the RPE community acting in a transaction in the role of a party holding patent assets.
Since the terms Seeker and Holder refer to a role, the same member of the RPE community may at the same time act in both roles, although in different transactions. The following definitions are used for the terms relating to transactions:
Request: A Seeker initiated transaction at RPE which is confidential.
Offer: A Holder initiated transaction at RPE which is public.
When you click at the animation at our main page, you can see a typical request procedure. An Offer is an auction-style transaction wherein Seekers can place bids and optionally acquire for a fixed price.