Transactions

Lawyers in our IP Group have extensive experience with mergers and acquisitions, spinoffs, license and distribution agreements, joint ventures, joint technology development agreements and strategic alliances for domestic and international clients in intellectual property-intensive industries, such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, semiconductors, computer hardware and software, electronics, telecommunications, automotive, media broadcasting and publishing.

Davis Polk's IP lawyers carefully evaluate and assess the intellectual property rights and technology at issue in such transactions, and work closely with our corporate and tax lawyers to structure the transfer or license of IP rights as optimal for the business objectives of our clients. The firm has also undertaken many biotechnology research and development financings, as well as equity and debt securities offerings by technology companies.

Portfolio Growth and Strategy

Applying our understanding of markets, competition, technology and IP law, Davis Polk's IP lawyers help our clients to identify, prioritize and protect their core value propositions with patents and other appropriate IP assets. We focus on building and shaping IP portfolios that strongly reflect and advance our clients' strategic business goals and relationships.

• “At Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, the complexity and scope of the IP Group’s work indicate it is the match of many larger practices.” Legal 500 U.S. 2011

• We advised Bertelsmann in connection with the sale of its 50% interest in the world’s second largest record label, SonyBMG, to Sony and Bertelsmann’s acquisition of selected European music catalog assets from SonyBMG.
  
  
• We advised Comcast in connection with its $1.05 billion investment in Clearwire, a company resulting from the combination of the high-speed wireless businesses of Sprint, Nextel and Clearwire and which is focused on expediting the deployment of the first nationwide mobile WiMAX network. We also advised Comcast on a subsequent $196 million additional investment in the company.
  
  
• We advised Novo Nordisk in connection with various technology transactions including its acquisition of certain intellectual property rights from Neose Technologies relating to the discovery, research, development and commercialization of compounds and products for use in the prevention or treatment of acquired or hereditary hemorrhagic disorders and the restructuring of its relationships with certain of its research and development partners, following its decision to exit the oncology area.

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