Intellectual Property Transactions

Intellectual property embodies a class of intangible assets the value of which, in some industries, often surpasses that of a company’s bricks and mortar assets. In a deal context, intellectual property can represent an untapped or underestimated repository of value. Further, intellectual property legal structures are evolving rapidly, struggling to maintain the pace of technological change. The processes of developing or acquiring, protecting, and then exploiting these assets are riddled with challenges that call for the assistance of specialized counsel.

Lawyers in the transactional Intellectual Property Group at Paul, Weiss combine their valuable experience as transactional lawyers with specialized knowledge of all areas of law affecting intellectual property assets to transcend typical approaches to the practice of intellectual property law. We offer boutique-style intellectual property support buttressed by the substantial resources of a full-service firm. We are versatile, experienced transactional lawyers who understand the interplay of business objectives, practical pressures and time. We are responsive, creative problem-solvers with deal savvy and a will to close. Our team is involved in virtually every transaction that passes through our Corporate Department, yet our lawyers also have clients who come to Paul, Weiss specifically for the protection, or exploitation, of their intellectual property assets. We regularly tackle complicated and evolving intellectual property issues both in the context of transactions and in response to strategic or regulatory questions brought by our clients.

Our clients run the gamut from large-cap, media, communications, software and biotechnology companies to industrial, manufacturing and other firms whose businesses touch on intellectual property in remarkably diverse ways.

We represent clients in all manner of licensing, portfolio acquisitions and divestitures, and whole company deals encompassing copyright, trademark, e-commerce and internet law, patents, trade secrets, false advertising, privacy and every type of entertainment content and technology imaginable. We provide counsel to our clients in relation to IP audits, licenses and due diligence in addition to general corporate support in protecting their portfolios of intellectual property assets, including trademark prosecution.

Part of our unique advantage results from the cross-pollination of clients, matters, and ideas with our Entertainment Department, where we represent the more creative side of intellectual property. Our deep involvement in all aspects of the entertainment industry, where many of the most fundamental and complicated intellectual property issues are being currently tested and refined, gives us a unique and very valuable perspective on the evolution of the business and legal structures that will shape the future of intellectual property ownership and distribution. Through our experience representing clients in film, television, live stage, books, music, software and magazines, we have an intimate understanding of how content is developed, acquired and exploited. We can both anticipate traditional pitfalls and predict new directions in the industry and the law. This unique relationship between our entertainment practice and our Intellectual Property Group permits Paul, Weiss to offer a level of service unmatched by any other major New York law firm.

Our lawyers work hard to remain at the cutting edge of developments in intellectual property law. In addition to being invited to speak at conferences and appearing frequently in the press, we publish for recipients around the world a quarterly newsletter, Next , that covers the latest developments across a wide range of intellectual property and technology issues.