Licensing intellectual property - patents, trademarks and copyrights - can be a major source of revenue for technology companies and other businesses. Woodcock Washburn has been a leader in effective licensing for more than 30 years. Our attorneys study each client's business, intellectual property, markets, and competition to help develop a solid licensing plan that maximizes royalties far into the future.

Woodcock Washburn has negotiated and authored license deals for Fortune 500 companies valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition, we have handled out-licensing technology deals for non-manufacturing patent holders, such as universities. When appropriate, our attorneys counsel clients on exploiting certain technology through the formation of spin-off entities -- complex arrangements that require expertise that few have mastered. Our lawyers' technical backgrounds give them insight into the pitfalls of intellectual property transactions and how to avoid them. Because we also have the perspective of scientists and engineers, we understand the technology and often recognize meaningful legal issues that other attorneys might not see.

Approach

Our approach to transactions can be characterized as delivering maximum value at a fair cost. We do this by:

• Determining the client’s business objectives
• Determining the real risks in the transaction
• Determining the client's risk tolerance
• Leveraging our existing library of checklists and agreements written in plain English
• Not wasting time on negotiating clauses that do not affect the client's business objectives or desired risk allocation

Types of Agreements

Our firm has extensive experience in the drafting and negotiation of agreements that touch upon intellectual property. These agreements include:

• Patent Agreements
• Trademark Agreements
• Copyright Agreements
• Information Technology Agreements
• Joint development/Open Innovation Agreements
• Non-Disclosure/Secrecy
• Consulting Services