As the most valuable corporate assets become increasingly intangible, it is essential to identify and solve intellectual property-related issues arising in complex corporate transactions. Clients look to our Intellectual Property Transactions practice for guidance on intellectual property (IP) issues arising in all types of corporate and financial transactions, including:

• Acquisitions and divestitures of IP and technology assets
• Joint ventures and joint development arrangements
• Licensing and technology transactions
• Research and development agreements
• Securitization of intellectual property in debt transactions
• Technology services agreements
• IP portfolio development counseling
• IP due diligence
• Internet and new media issues

We provide our clients with critical support on nearly every transaction in which the firm is involved—including mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, bankruptcies and financings—handling critical IP due diligence and the development of intellectual property portfolio strategies. We also work closely with corporate, antitrust and tax lawyers to deliver integrated, multidisciplinary intellectual property law advice.

Representing multinational companies in cross-border transactions and financial offerings in multiple jurisdictions is an important part of our practice. With members in New York, California and Europe, our global reach enables us to meet the demands of our multinational clients and provide sophisticated, up-to-the-minute advice in relation to IP law and its development on a global basis. We also have considerable experience advising multinational companies on the intellectual property and related regulatory issues inherent in operating in multiple jurisdictions. A particular focus in this area is strategic advice relating to prosecution and management of global IP portfolios.

Through selective recruitment and training, we have built a practice of lawyers with outstanding legal and technical credentials. Our intellectual property attorneys hold degrees in fields that include chemical engineering, computer science and biochemistry, and many of them are registered to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many of them have also worked as scientists and engineers with leading life science and technology companies, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and as in-house intellectual property counsel in a variety of fields, including software, consumer products and media/entertainment.

• Altice N.V. | in its acquisition of Cablevision Systems Corporation
• American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings | in its acquisition of Metaldyne Performance Group Inc.
• Boston Scientific Corporation | in its acquisition of the urology portfolio of American Medical Systems, Inc. from Endo International Plc.
• Citigroup Inc. | in its sale of the Mexican asset management business of Citibanamex to BlackRock Inc.; acquisition of U.S. cobrand credit card portfolio of Costco Wholesale Corporation; multiple credit card deals
• Corning Incorporated | in its acquisition of 3M Company’s Fiber and Copper Connectivity Solutions Business
• CVS | in its $69 billion acquisition of Aetna
• Dassault Systèmes | in its acquisition of a majority stake in Centric Software Inc.
• Dow Chemical Company | in its $130 billion transaction with DuPont involving combination of the two companies and separating them into three publicly trading entities and the resulting $50 billion spin-off of Dow Inc.; the divestiture of its global polypropylene business to Braskem; $15.7 billion acquisition of Rohm and Haas; $1.7 billion sale of Morton Salt; sale of Styron to Bain Capital; sale of assets comprising EAA copolymers and ionomers business to SK Global Chemical Co.; sale of European extruded polystyrene foam business to Ravago SA
• General Electric | in its agreement to combine its oil and gas business with Baker Hughes to create a $32 billion oilfield technology provider; in the $3.25 billion sale of its Distributed Power business to Advent International
• Integration Appliance, Inc. | in its acquisition of DealCloud, Inc.
• Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. | in its acquisition of Trayport Limited; acquisition of TMC Bonds LLC
• Liberty Global Plc | in its acquisition of Cable & Wireless Communications Plc.
• LyondellBasell Industries N.V. | in its $2.25 billion merger with A. Schulman, Inc.
• New England Sports Ventures, LLC | in its acquisition of Liverpool Football Club
• Nokia Corporation | in its acquisition of SpaceTime Insight, Inc.
• Novartis | in its $3.9 billion acquisition of Advanced Accelerator Applications
• Shiseido Company Limited | in the $485 million sale of its subsidiary Zotos International Inc. to Henkel Corporation
• Sonic Corp. | in its $2.3 billion sale to Inspire Brands
• SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. | in the $1.45 billion acquisition of Eze Software Group LLC
• Textron Inc. | in its $810 million sale of its Tools and Test Business to Emerson Electric Co.
• Viacom International Inc. | in its acquisition of Awesomeness TV Holdings, LLC
• Warner Music Group | in its acquisition of EMP Merchandising Handelsgesellschaft mbH
• WebMD Health Corporation | in its acquisition by Internet Brands, a portfolio company of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.