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The Problem with Patent Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions and How to Fix It

As a business or investment professional involved in mergers and acquisitions ("M & A"), are you conducting patent due diligence according to the standard practices of your M & A attorneys and investment bankers? When patents form a significant aspect of the value of the transaction, you are probably getting incorrect advice about how to conduct due diligence. The due diligence process must take into consideration the competitive patent landscape. If competitive patents are not included in your vetting process, you may be significantly overvaluing the target company. In my many years of intellectual property and patent experience (more info here: http://www.jackiehutter.com/), I have been involved in a number of M & A transactions where patents formed a significant portion of the underlying value of the deal. As the patent specialist on these transactions, I took direction from highly compensated M & A attorneys and investment bankers who were acknowledged