How much is a patent worth? By Google math $510,204.08

It appears as if Google is attempting to set a baseline for the value of a patent, according to some analysts who took a closer look of its acquisition of Motorola Mobility. Industry watchers widely believe that the Mountain View, Calif. search giant's primary interest in the acquisition was the massive portfolio of patents that could be used in defending Android.

Motorola holds about 24,500 patents, and it gives Google a huge shot in the arm when it comes to intellectual property. It paid $12.5 billion for the phone manufacturer, but it appears that the hardware business had little to do with the company's perceived value.

Last December, Novell sold 882 of its patents for $450 million. Frost & Sullivan analysts noted on a per patent basis, this would come to a little over $510,204.08 per patent. Compare this to the Motorola acquisition, and surprisingly enough, guess how much each patent comes out to? $510,204.08.

"In the Motorola acquisition, Google bought a patent portfolio and got a mobile phone business thrown in for free," the analysts said in their research note.

The fact that those behind the deal appear to be using some kind of baseline shows that the company could be serious in its argument that patents are increasingly overvalued. Apply the same concept to the Nortel acquisition and you find those 6,000 patents came at a cost of $750,000 per patent.

That's a 47 percent premium on the price Google paid for Motorola's, and now seemingly bolsters its argument.