Latham’s Technology Transactions Practice acts as day-to-day business and legal advisors to companies and investors across a wide range of industries, helping organizations develop, commercialize, protect, license, share, and exploit technology and intellectual property (IP) assets.
The firm’s lawyers protect and commercialize IP and technology assets by structuring, drafting, and negotiating effective licensing agreements. Latham’s technology transactions lawyers understand the flow of IP rights in technology companies, helping businesses to protect core assets, and navigate complex — and often cross-border — licensing arrangements with relevant stakeholders, such as universities, founders, contractors, consultants, manufacturers, distributors, and other technology companies.
Latham & Watkins’ licensing experience spans key technology industries, including software, semiconductor, device, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), e-commerce, and fintech.
Latham’s Technology Transactions Practice works closely with the firm’s Entertainment, Sports & Media Practice to help content owners and distributors establish successful partnerships that license brands effectively, protect future use and value of IP, achieve coverage in new geographic markets, and enable distribution on innovative platforms such as virtual reality. Jointly, the teams have extensive experience negotiating exclusivity, branding and IP rights, as well as advising on license restrictions in relation to device and territorial distribution.
The firm also has a great deal of academic licensing experience, including advising companies incubated in a university or research center. Latham lawyers have advised research institutions and government entities on strategy and outbound licensing, the set-up, technology licensing, and financing of spin-offs and startups.
Latham is also able to leverage its complementary practice capabilities to support companies in protecting and commercializing IP. The firm’s data privacy practitioners support clients in creating licensing agreements that effectively mitigate data privacy and security risk, ensuring contractual arrangements address the compliant export, access, and use of data. Should IP disputes arise, Latham is able to call upon its litigators to handle cases involving all types of IP claims, including in combination with related claims of antitrust, contract disputes, unfair business practices, and other causes of action.