AI Magazine Issue 3 2017

24 Acquisition International - March 2017 Anders Arvidsson, CEO of Parallel North, talks in-depth about the firm and its offerings in the Intellectual Property sector, having achieved the status of the Leaders in Intellectual Property 2017 award for their work in Europe. arallel North IP is a European Intellectual Property (IP) consulting and brokerage firm providing customised services for clients to leverage the commercial value of their IP. “Our passion is to define the monetary value of IP assets, which is critical for any risk assessment, sale, acquisition, license or other transaction involving IP rights,” explains Anders Arvidsson, the firm’s chief executive officer. “This definition requires a broad range of legal, financial and technical expertise, all of which enables our clients to maximise profitability and minimise risk in IP transactions. Our services have helped clients to create new revenue streams, raise new capital, achieve cost savings, undertake financial risk, secure evidence of use and strengthen their patent position against their peers.” Parallel North IP provides global coverage and has offices in Sweden, USA and Denmark. The company was founded in January 2016 as the result of the union of three highly accomplished IP professionals with almost five decades of combined experience. The firm’s offerings include: CONSULTING SERVICES IN STRATEGIC IP ADVISORY All companies are different, but they have one thing in common: there is no standard solution for a proper patent strategy. In order to successfully commercialise patents, it is necessary to have thorough knowledge of the dynamics of buying, selling and licensing. This involves a robust understanding of patent value, monetisation options, risk assessment and financial analysis to derive the best return. Choosing the right business model to monetise patents is crucial, and understanding all the variables involved in executing a plan is key; for example: Should you buy, sell or license patents? How strong is your patent if you plan to litigate it? Is there a market to commercialise your patents? How should you value the assets? Parallel North IP can offer a patent strategy tailored uniquely to serve a client’s commercialisation objectives and to strengthen their position in present and future negotiations. PATENT VALUATIONS Defining the value of patents is critical to any transaction involving IP rights. It is also a critical element for identifying financial exposure from potential patent infringement or for raising new capital. Parallel North IP offers a wide range of patent valuation methodologies with the expertise Company: Parallel North IP AB Name: Anders Arvidsson, CEO Email: anders.arvidsson@ parallelnorthip.com Web: www.parallelnorthip.com Address: Tornkammaregatan 10, Tygelsjö, 218 72 Sweden Phone: +46 70 738 16 67 Passionate About Intellectual Property P 1703AI101 to utilize the valuation for the most appropriate risk and/or financial assessment. PATENT BROKERAGE The market for buying and selling patents has evolved dramatically during the past few years, and patents are nowadays used as tradable assets like any fixed asset. There may be several reasons why companies buy, sell, or license IP assets, but both parties have one thing in common: they each want the best possible deal. In order to ensure a lucrative transaction, Parallel North IP provides its clients with the right network for a successful closing and the most robust understanding of patent value to maximise their return. The firm acts as a broker connecting entities that want to sell their patents with entities that are seeking to buy patents. IP LICENSING Patents are multidimensional assets that can be used to create value through licensing programs. In order to generate revenue streams or to avoid expensive law suits when seeking an IP license, patent owners should consider an IP licensing program. Proper preparation is crucial to have a robust understanding of the IP’s value and to have a clear approach for successful commercialisation. Contacting the right person with the right pitch increases a patent owner’s chances of meeting their goals. Parallel North IP offers strategic guidance to develop a licensing program as well as the analysis to identify product usage, potential licensees and relevant markets that will serve as the basis for revenue generation. These offerings are based upon Parallel North IP’s exemplary competencies in areas such as: • Strategic Recommendations - Define the best possible strategy specific to a client’s situation and objectives. • Strategic Implementation - Create an implementation plan to ensure a high probability of success. • Risk Assessment - Assess commercial/ financial risk and potential impact for IP infringement/commercialization. • Valuation – Derive a robust understanding of patent value for transactions, new capital campaigns, patent swaps, transfer pricing and other programs. • Market and Financial Analysis - Identify products, markets and customers to develop programs and analyze financial return. • Brokerage and Licensing – Provide due diligence/negotiation support to enable transactions through the firm’s extensive network of dealmakers. The Swedish office is operated by Anders who has well over two decades of experience of developing, valuing and monetising patent assets in the corporate world. As a market maker, Mr. Arvidsson has been one of the pioneers in creating the marketplace for IP transactions, which has helped to protect companies’ strategic product positions and maximise the value of their intellectual property. Mr. Arvidsson has negotiated 100s of transactions comprising multiple patent portfolios. Previously, Mr. Arvidsson spent 13 years at Nokia, where he headed the patent acquisition team. He has a long experience from negotiated transactions involving multiple patent portfolios. He has also been working as Vice President IPR for GN Store Nord A/S, which is developing and manufacturing medical devices for hearing impairment and audio solutions. “I constantly seek new ways to use intellectual property as a strategic tool, and have delivered revenue captures in the range of $100-150M from various transactions for my clients.” The office in USA is operated by Keith Woomer , who has almost two decades of experience with global intellectual property management, evaluation and transactions. He has developed and implemented innovative IP processes which enable profitable monetization of assets. “I employ keen attention to detail coupled with pragmatic assessment of IP-related opportunities, and have delivered returns of $100M-$300M+ for several monetization programs.” The Danish office is operated by Lucia Alvarado , who has significant patent monetization experience. She has over a decade of international practice and has worked in business development for tech-based companies in the Americas, patent licensing and enforcement in the US and Europe, and IP strategy for high-tech innovation ventures. “My specialty is to identify the value in patents and make sure the client receives its worth; I’ve helped generate well over $300M for my clients.” The firm differentiates itself from the competition, and marks itself out as the best possible option for clients, as it is the only patent monetisation company that is focusing on the European market. “We are recognised as the leading patent monetisation company in Europe and one of the top IP valuation companies worldwide according to Forbes Ranking , as well as one of the few patent monetisation companies in Europe offering flexible