Thompson Coburn’s technology transactions practice brings together a multidisciplinary team of attorneys to help clients acquire, license, develop, protect, and monetize technologies across various industries.
Our clients have ranged from large, established companies to early-stage startups, spanning sectors including IT, software development, health care, life sciences, food and agriculture, e-commerce, logistics, telecommunications, leasing, alternative energy, manufacturing, financial services, and defense and government. We help address a broad range of issues including:
- Joint ventures and corporate partnering
- Procurement and outsourcing
- Technology transfer and development
- Licensing
- Venture capital, private equity, and venture debt financing
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Pre-litigation risk analysis
- Patent prosecution
- Compensation and employment issues unique to tech
- Data security
- Federal, state and local taxation
Recognizing the significant role of technology transactions in driving business value, our multidisciplinary team, many with technical backgrounds or in-house experience, collaborates with clients to enhance relationships, manage risks, and efficiently deploy resources. We understand the business and technical challenges our clients face and offer creative, practical solutions.
Our team includes members from intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, cybersecurity, and other relevant practice groups. In addition, our lobbying and policy group provides strategic advice on federal government relations and public policy, helping technology clients craft compelling messages, work in coalitions, and identify legislative and regulatory trends. For international matters, we leverage a broad network of local counsel worldwide for country-specific advice.
experience
- We advise licensors and licensees in transactions covering virtually every type of intellectual property asset, including patented technology, trademarks, software, copyrighted works, and know-how.
- Our technology transactions attorneys work with clients to develop and commercialize intellectual property assets in corporate partnering, value-added reseller arrangements, and joint venture and co-development matters in many fields, such as life sciences, information technology, consumer products, infrastructure, and health care.
- Clients rely on us to structure and negotiate business processes, information technology, and other outsourcing and procurement transactions.
- We have experience representing strategic buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions involving technology assets. We also represent funders and issuers in venture investing and lending transactions, including established entities looking to acquire equity or debt of early stage technology companies as well as the issuers themselves. Many of these transactions include a “corporate partnering” component along with the investment to establish a collaboration to develop and distribute technology.
- Where required, our technology transactions work also involves colleagues whose practices focus on the prosecution and protection of intellectual property through registration and litigation; on hiring, retaining and compensating service providers; advising technology companies on the unique federal, state and local taxation issues that affect them; and working with clients on data security.
