Erik Oliver
Erik Oliver
counsels clients on patent, licensing and trademark matters. He brings more than ten years of patent prosecution, litigation, and licensing experience and a track record of millions of dollars in both patent and technology licensing deals. Prior to founding the ROL Group, Erik was a Vice President at ThinkFire Services USA, Ltd’s Silicon Valley office. Erik has held various senior positions with a range of responsibilities at Rambus Inc., Synopsys, Inc., and a number of Silicon Valley startups. Erik is a member of the California and District of Columbia Bar and a United States Patent and Trademark Office registered patent attorney.
You can reach Erik via e-mail at erik@richardsonoliver.com, or on the Internet at Richardson Oliver Law Group.
Posts by Erik Oliver
When Strategies Collide: Freedom to Operate Clashes with Freedom of Action in Converging Industries
What happens when technology convergence fundamentally changes your patent risk profile? What do you do when your customer demands broad intellectual property (IP) indemnification and your supplier …
Brokered Patents are Not Junk—and the Reasons will Surprise You
Occasionally, we hear people say, “brokered patents are all junk.” This begs the question, “are operating companies and non-practicing entities (NPEs) spending hundreds of millions of dollars …
So, What’s the Value of Your Patent Strategy? Getting from Assumptions to Numbers
10,000+ patents, spending $10M’s per year, cross-licenses, and license potential with dozens of companies, what’s the value of the portfolio to the business? Is your patent …
Billions of Dollars at Risk: How to Manage Patent Licensing Across Entire Industries. A Case Study
When managing many of cross-licensing negotiations it can be hard to prioritize your activities. In a recent case, the client experienced this very thing and felt they …
Finding your way from patent value to return-on-investment. A patent strategy case study
Your CEO: “Why are we spending so much on patents?” Your CFO: “Do we have a financial model for this spend?” The path forward isn’t clear. …
Patent Quality Isn’t the Question. Patent Value is the Question.
“It’s not very helpful to talk about quality,” said former Chief Judge Michel. We agree. Quality has too many meanings for too many people. We all …
You Need Defensive Patents But You Don’t Have Any. Now What? A Case Study
When the corporate asserter arrived at our client’s door, the asserter wanted: (1) to obtain both a cross-license and revenue from a patent license and (2) to increase …
Ensuring a robust defensive portfolio: A Prepared Counter-Assertion Strategy
The required number of patents in a given playbook varies based on both the size of company of concern and our exposure to it. The general goal …
Now a Big Company Wants You to Take a Patent License…
This is going to be a different ride Most high technology companies have a good grasp of the challenges and solutions for dealing with patent trolls. However, …
Assertion Risk Mitigation Opportunity Through Patent Acquisition
In this post, we’ll analyze LinkedIn’s patent acquisition process and the results of its targeted buying program. While the increase in LinkedIn’s filings helped …
LinkedIn’s Patent Strategy
LinkedIn was a rapidly growing company with only 22 patents in its portfolio in 2012, putting itself at high risk for patent assertion. With a revenue reaching nearly $1 billion …
How and Why LinkedIn Learned to Love Patents
In 2012, LinkedIn found itself a potential target for corporate patent asserters. LinkedIn had revenue reaching nearly $1 billion, with growth of 86%, yet owned only 22 patents. However, this changed …
2016 Patent Market Size and Conclusions
Once again, the brokered market has shrunk: we estimate that actual sales from June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016 were $165 million (down from $233 million the previous year)... In the 2016 market …
Litigation and IPRs: More Dangerous Than You Thought?
We analyzed all of the packages in our database to look at the use of the assets after receipt of the package by the broker. Because we …
Patent Sales Rates Decreased in 2016, but Patent Market Remains Viable and Robust
Though patent sales rates have decreased in 2016, the patent market remains viable and robust. We continue to see a trend in the increased speed at which packages …
