Investors think Twitter needs more patents

Those who are outside of the business world of technology often do not realize the importance of patents. Savvy investors get it. Will Twitter?

Profits aren’t the only thing lacking at Twitter Inc. (TWTR) ahead of its planned initial public offering. It’s got a dearth of patents, too.

The microblogging service said in its prospectus this week that it has nine issued U.S. patents. That compares with 774 cited by Facebook Inc. before its initial public offering in May 2012 and International Business Machine Corp.’s 6,478 patents accrued last year alone. Twitter’s smaller patent trove reflects its philosophy of letting engineers and designers own their inventions.