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
Quickly Modeling Patent Value
Imagine you are presenting to your boss and requesting approval of a $2 million purchase of four patent families. Already savvy about market prices, she is focused on …
Quickly Modeling Patent Market Prices
Imagine you have found four patent families that address a specific risk to your business, and you are about to ask your boss to approve buying those …
Reflections on the 2018 Patent Market
Despite falling average prices, in 2018, the patent market grew fast. We estimate the 2018 market size to be $353 million, up from last year’s estimated $296 million. The 2016 market …
Tracking Buyer and Seller Behavior: 2018 Patent Market Report
As a buyer, tracking the behaviors of sellers, both in aggregate and individually, allows you to operationalize your buying activities. This is especially true for repeat sellers, …
More Patent Packages Sold in 2018 Than Any Other Market Year
When discussing potential patent purchases with buyers, we continue our push to end the use of the phrase “low quality” to broadly characterize rejected patents. We often …
Per-Asset Patent Pricing Sees Sharp Shift in 2018
In any market, pricing is where the rubber meets the road. As a buyer, you will not be taken seriously if you significantly underbid, yet you want …
Listings of Patent Packages Increased by Nearly Eighteen Percent in 2018
In our first article examining the 2018 patent market, we provided an overview of the data and found that prices were stabilizing across listings, buying and selling programs …
The Brokered Patent Market Grows To $353 Million In 2018
Two years ago, we told the story of a patent broker who said: “This market keeps on getting worse; the case law keeps on coming out against …
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 …
