Employing in-depth knowledge of a wide array of intellectual property classes and commercial deal structures, our experienced Technology, Media, and Commercial (TMC) transactions team helps clients forge strategic alliances that leverage the commercial uses of intellectual property and technology, cultivate brands through celebrity and other endorsements, and manage commercial contracts and outsourcing engagements.
Often serving as transaction leads, our deal lawyers – many of whom have prior industry experience as engineers, programmers, and scientists, as well as financial backgrounds – work with clients in technology-driven industries to identify, protect, exploit, and commercialize intangible assets. Whether they are licensing IP-centered deals or negotiating strategic partnerships and complex joint ventures, clients rely on our business acumen and first-hand knowledge of the novel legal issues surrounding the underlying assets and related commercial arrangements to efficiently bring their deals to a successful conclusion. In addition, we are often called upon to provide IP-specific support for merger and acquisition deals.
Our team also counsels entertainment and media companies in entrepreneurial ventures and works with celebrity and high-profile clients looking to develop and boost brand value through endorsements, influencer deals, or licensing opportunities. In this sphere, we also provide counsel on rights of privacy and rights of publicity, managing the use of name, image, and likeness, and trademarks.
Recognizing that intellectual property moves easily across borders, we leverage an established network of local counsel in global markets to provide comprehensive support. Whether they are building brands, handling outsourcing engagements, or closing deals, our TMC team combines a comprehensive knowledge of the underlying assets with vast practical experience to help clients in this rapidly expanding sector manage, optimize, and monetize their intangible properties.
Industry Focus
We represent clients across a broad range of industries, including life sciences / pharmaceuticals, software / technology, financial services / fintech, entertainment and media, digital media, hospitality and lodging, consumer products, healthcare / health tech, industrial products, energy, automotive, advertising / ad tech, and more.
Our experience encompasses:
- Strategic Alliances. Among our core strengths are structuring and negotiating complex cross-border technology-centric joint ventures, collaborations, alliance arrangements, and strategic relationships. We are also well versed in handling the IP and technology issues that arise in those contexts.
- Licensing Deals. A particular focus of the group is licensing and commercializing technology, intellectual property, and other intangible assets, including through complex development, collaboration, distribution, cross-licensing, marketing, and brand extension arrangements.
- Entertainment and Media. Along with representing high-profile figures in various entrepreneurial ventures, our attorneys assist entertainers, publishers, authors, artists, sports figures, and media companies in securing and exploiting rights to their work and their likenesses and with related transactions. We also have broad experience drafting agreements related to copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property licensing, and celebrity endorsements.
- Data Use and Commercialization. We help our clients craft contracts involving rights to data, access to databases, and the processing of data, and provide related advice in order to comply with evolving privacy and information security laws, regulations, and industry practices. We also have significant experience with the licensing, exploitation, and protection of data; contracts that involve complex arrangements and clauses dealing with the creation, hosting, licensing, re-use, de-identification, transfer, and privacy of personal data; and related information security and privacy requirements.
- Cloud Computing Services. As clients increasingly turn to cloud computing to grow their businesses, our team has cultivated extensive knowledge of the ever-expanding breadth of related legal issues. We work with our clients to negotiate terms and conditions for cloud computing technologies, software as a service (SaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), Internet of Things (IOT) arrangements, and e-commerce contracts.
- Sourcing Transactions. Our team represents clients in sourcing transactions involving the procurement, development, implementation, and use of technologies and services. We also provide comprehensive counsel in connection with new product integration and distribution arrangements, and with the negotiation of all related commercial contracts and services agreements.
- Outsourcing Transactions. We handle all stages of outsourcing and business process re-engineering transactions. By drawing on our past representation of both customers and vendors, we can offer a unique insight into the critical issues confronting our clients involved in such arrangements.
- Mergers and Acquisitions. Mergers and acquisitions can involve significant IP and technology-related issues. In this realm we structure and negotiate transition assistance and other commercial arrangements in support of M&A transactions, conduct in-depth IP and technology due diligence, evaluate intangible assets, and navigate post-deal IP and technology issues. We also assist with technology development and transfer arrangements.
- Venture Capital and Capital Markets. Working closely with Venable's business transaction attorneys, we regularly advise on technology and IP issues affecting capital market and private equity financings and on using technology assets as collateral.
- Intellectual Property Management. We leverage our substantive deal experience to provide valued strategic counseling in structuring, evaluating, enforcing, and defending intellectual property rights to maximize value.
- Technology Dispute Resolution and Settlement. Leveraging Venable's nationally ranked litigators and our subject matter experts, we regularly assist with protecting and enforcing rights, resolving disputes, and crafting settlement arrangements involving intellectual property and technology.
