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 outlicensing technology deals for non-manufacturing patent holders, including 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.
Some of our firm's recent transactions include:
- Establishing a licensing program for a breakthrough mechanical technology having very broad and cross-platform industrial applicability.
- Licensing an improved aluminum beer can technology to a major brewer.
- Working with a major university to establish a series of startup companies to exploit the university's technology in genetic stimulation.
- Assisting in licensing core patents for a startup company to exploit the use of magnetic fields for the treatment of depression.
- Arranging a cross-license between disposable cup suppliers involving technology used by a major fast-food chain.
- Assisting a major medical device manufacturer in a broad cross-licensing agreement with a competitor for angioplasty catheter technology to settle multiple domestic and foreign litigations and other proceedings.
- Securing a licensing agreement in connection with industry standards developed by major companies in the field for providing business services via the internet.
- Assisting a growing orthopedics manufacturing company to partially monetize profit streams from several older product lines to finance clinical trials for a series of new products.
- Licensing a platform technology in the genetics area to a major company, while retaining several important technologies that are generating ongoing drug products.
- Preparing manufacturing agreements for consumer products that included assignment of intellectual property rights.
- Preparing user license agreements and privacy policies for web sites, including the terms for an audio book retail site and hardscaping products.
- Drafting content licenses for old-time radio content, audio books and ring tones.
- Developing agreements for public display of well-known sculptures in foreign cities.
- Preparing publishing agreements for the creation and distribution of a well-known artist's biography.
