Patent/IP Diligence in Technology M&A

Patent/IP Diligence in Technology M&A is a practical, investor-minded CLE on how to evaluate patent portfolios during technology deals—focusing on what actually drives patent value, how to spot companies likely to produce high-quality patents, and how to pressure-test IP risk (including freedom-to-operate) during diligence.

• What Makes Patents Valuable: How to assess quality vs. quantity—scope, enforceability, claim coverage, remaining term, and real-world competitive leverage.
• Recognizing a Company that will Create Valuable Patents: Signals that a target has repeatable innovation + patenting discipline (process, portfolio strategy, alignment with product roadmap).
• Why Care About Valuable Patents?: How patent strength impacts valuation, deal leverage, defensibility, and post-close strategy.
• Due Diligence: A diligence framework for reviewing ownership/chain of title, prosecution history, encumbrances, open-source/product alignment, and portfolio “red flags.”
• Avoiding Patents…the Freedom to Operate: How FTO risk shows up in deals, what to look for, and how to mitigate exposure to third-party patents.

Speakers:
David Hoffman, Principal, Fish & Richardson
Katie Prescott, Principal, Fish & Richardson