Report: Yahoo Wants to Unload 3K Patents

The embattled Yahoo, which is currently exploring ways to potentially sell its business, is now reportedly looking to offload several thousand patents.

Yahoo has started an auction to sell approximately 3,000 patents, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people with knowledge of its plans who say the patents could be worth as much as $1 billion to Yahoo. The patents relate to a wide range of technologies, but mostly focus on Internet search and advertising.

In a separate story, the Journal says Verizon will bid $3 billion for Yahoo's Web assets, about a year after it purchased AOL for $4.4 billion. But a Yahoo spokesperson told the Journal that Yahoo will be accepting bids through mid-June.

Yahoo has been evaluating its strategic options in light of increasing competition in the digital-advertising market and fears that it might not be able to rebound. The company has reportedly been fielding offers from companies to buy its core business, which doesn't include its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba or Yahoo Japan.

Regardless of what happens to the patents and Yahoo, the company's CEO Marissa Mayer continues on. In fact, she has engaged in widespread layoffs and nixed certain Web services. On Tuesday, Mayer also launched a few things: three bots on Kik Messenger that will allow users to access Yahoo Weather, Yahoo News, and MonkeyPets, a "virtual friend that lives off of emojis and shares from its travels."

Yahoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.