Speaking Engagement

Intellectual Property Owners Association presents Current Topics in IP

Friday, September 24 04:00 AM BST to 04:00 AM BST

"WHO IS ON THE HOOK?INDEMNITIES IN PATENT SALES AND LICENSES"Thursday, September 23, 20102:00 pm ET

Companies that buy or license technology from others didn't used to have to worry much about being sued for patent infringement on that technology -- the patent holder would take its quarrel up directly with the other supplier, because the buyer or licensor was also likely the patent holder's own customer or  potential customer. But with the rise in patent holding companies, that equation has changed. For instance, when Rembrandt Technologies wanted to enforce its patents involving digital TV a few years ago, the patent holding company sued a group of cable systems operators including Cablevision and  Time Warner, but not the manufacturers whose components allegedly infringed the patents. (The suppliers later joined the fight on behalf of its customers.)

Because of the new dynamic, tensions are heightened between many suppliers and buyers/licensors. In May, for instance, Sprint Nextel sued its suppliers Sanyo, Kyocera and Palm in the U.S. Court for the District of New Jersey, claiming that they are obligated to pay Sprint's defense costs and potential liabilities in an infringement case brought against it by Digital Technology Licensing.

In this webinar a panel of experts, including Paul Hastings partner Terry Garnett, will give sophisticated advice on this topic, including how to draft agreements that eliminate ambiguity and properly allocate risk, strategy on how to enforce indemnities through litigation if necessary, and how to deal with lurking problems in existing patent and license portfolios.

For more information and to register, visit the IPOA's website here.