NPE Intellectual Ventures Releases Searchable List of its Patents

Readers of the IPKat are surely familiar with the NPE Intellectual Ventures, which is one of the most active NPEs in the United States.  [Prior Kat mentions here and here, among others.]

Intellectual Ventures's website claims that it has acquired more than 70,000 IP assets in 39 countries, resulting in nearly 40,000 "active monetization programs." 

And now, Intellectual Ventures (IV) has made a database of nearly all of its IP assets searchable online or downloadable in an Excel spreadsheet (hat tip Inside Counsel). 

IV explains that the purpose of making its database publically searchable on its Patent Finder site:

We’ve made it convenient to search for assets by assembling the majority of our portfolio in one place. Customers interested in buying or licensing assets from our portfolio can search the database to find individual patents or whole technology areas of interest to them. Inventors looking to sell their patent assets to us can browse to better understand the technology areas of interest to us. Everyone can use the interactive tool to locate patent assets by [number], title, or country.

In addition, according to the FAQ section of IV's website, IV acknowledges the public interest in its business strategies as an active NPE:

As one of the largest global patent holders in the world, we are often the subject of curiosity. Customers want to see what is currently available to license or buy and others are curious about our holdings and our intentions. While much of this information is available through various global patent office databases, we have decided to assemble the majority of our portfolio in a single place, providing our customers and others who are interested a convenient, publically available list of our assets.

Is this an attempt to improve IV's image in the corporate world and shed the "patent troll" reputation, this Kat wonders?