IP Due Diligence

For start-ups and mature businesses alike, patents can be used to fuel growth, expand into new markets, and attract major investments. While a robust patent portfolio can detail a company’s inventions and business objectives, the scope of coverage the patent portfolio affords can be extremely complex and difficult to understand.

Our IP strategists not only successfully prosecute and litigate our clients’ patents, but are equally adept at analyzing the strength and weaknesses of a patent portfolio and providing opinions as to how patents can be leveraged in the marketplace. Intellectual property due diligence is a critical component of monetization, mergers and acquisitions, negotiating purchase terms, and preparing exit strategies, public offerings, and private placements.

At Brooks Kushman, our attorneys work with venture capitalists, private equity firms, angel investors, and individual investors, helping them to evaluate the viability of patent portfolio assets, identify opportunities for strengthening the assets, and enable them to make critical investment decisions and proceed accordingly.

Brooks Kushman’s attorneys possess unmatched technical and scientific training, business and industry know-how, and – unlike other firms claiming broad expertise across a number of practice areas – a singular focus on patents, trademarks, copyright, and intellectual property. Our IP strategists and patent analysts provide intelligence and counsel on key considerations, including:

• Infringement
• Potential Invalidity Challenges Enforceability & Freedom to Operate
• Due Diligence in Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures
• Licensing & Joint Ventures
• Open Source Software
• Unsolvency & Damages
• Strategic Portfolio Budgeting

IP Strategy for Today and Tomorrow

Evaluating a patent portfolio requires exploration of various indicators, such as forward citations, patent family size, priority and expiration, oppositions and third party challenges during and after the application process, domestic and international market position, litigation history, and the quantity and quality of patent claims. Because these and other factors are prone to change, it may be necessary for companies to conduct periodic patent portfolio reviews over the long term to monitor shifts in strengths, gaps, investment, and risks to achieve the most value from the companies’ innovations.