Patent Law Practice Center

Richard J. Lutton on the Valuation Challenge

In the world of high-tech M&A, patent analysis has historically been relegated to the later “due diligence” stages of an M&A transaction and the focus has been primarily if not exclusively on patent risk factors (e.g., the target’s exposure to third party infringement claims or the potential loss of a critical inbound license).  Except in rare cases, the strategic value of the target’s patent portfolio has not been a factor in sourcing or pricing the deal.  Now all that has changed and strategic patent value has been a driving force in some very significant recent M&A transactions.

During PLI’s “IP Driven M&A: The Revolution has Arrived”, Richard J. Lutton, Jr, former Apple CIPIO, spoke on a panel discussing means of reconciling patent valuation vs. corporate valuation techniques. Lutton reiterates that strategic patent value has been a driving force in some very significant M&A transactions, and provides the factors that he would consider in valuing a patent portfolio.Check out the video clip below:

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