Maneuvering Between Licensing & Litigation

In the global business world the line between licensing and litigation has narrowed. In the US, sending a simple warning letter to a potential licensee can quickly lead to a declaratory judgment lawsuit. A licensee can sue the licensor without breaching the license. Given the high cost of patent infringement litigation, infringers can demand that a patent owner demonstrate willingness to litigate before negotiating a license. German patent owners pursuing licensing revenue in the US must be prepared to litigate, both in view of the legal requirements and the much higher cost compared to litigating in Germany.

• Licensing negotiation strategies
• Managing inventorship issues including employee inventor laws
• Risk of declaratory judgment lawsuit
• Litigation in the U.S. and Germany/EU – current developments
• Discovery issues
• Working with co-owners in litigation situations
• Handling multiple infringers

Speakers:

• Dr. Rouget F. (“Ric”) Henschel (U.S. Patent Attorney member of Virginia and District of Columbia Bars), Foley & Lardner
• Dr. Markus Jacobi (German and European Patent and Trademark Attorney) Isenbruck
• Sven Riethmueller (Attorney, member of New York and Massachusetts Bars), Foley & Lardner
• Dr. Daniel Weisert (Rechtsanwalt), Rittershaus