Mergers and acquisitions are, by their very nature, extremely complex transactions. A wide variety of factors must be taken into account when a company decides it wants to buy, sell, divide or combine companies or business units. And, in the last few decades, business leaders have had to consider one more factor that has been growing in significance: Intellectual property. Companies now see IP–especially patents–as keystones of business architecture.
“More than ever, patents are viewed as assets with value, either in and of themselves or as ways to generate revenue,” says Mallun Yen, executive vice president at RPX Corporation, where she oversees new products and initiatives.
