Deep tech, Intellectual Property, and the Community converged over consecutive, in-person events held by the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society (LES-SVC) in May and June 2023.
LES-SVC organized both events to address the industry trends in deep tech, intellectual property licensing and the expected economic impact of the federal government policy shift via The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act of 2022 (CHIPS Act).
Federally Funded Inventions and IP Available for Licensing:
On Wednesday, May 24th, more than 70 participants gathered at KPMG’s Silicon Valley Office in Santa Clara, CA to discuss and learn about “Sharing the Benefits of Federally Funded and Academic R&D Investments with the Private Sector.” The event was hosted by Braden Weatherhead, Director, Contract Compliance Services at KPMG.
Nitin J. Shah, LES-SVC Board Member and Principal Innovator at MITRE Engenuity moderated the all-star panel that consisted of:
- Genaro Mempin, Business Development Executive, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- Laleh Shayesteh, Director of Intellectual Property and Administration, Office of Technology Licensing, UC Berkeley
- Katharine Ku, Chief Licensing Advisor, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
- Darius Sankey, General Partner and Managing Director, Innovation Acceleration Capital
The panel covered the pipeline and business models available for licensing and commercialization by the private sector. Specifically, how the federal government and universities fund a vast amount of leading-edge research at federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) and academic institutions.
Perhaps most importantly, the panel was deeply engaged by the attendees, including researchers at NASA, entrepreneurs, and investors, regarding the complexity of matching the IP with commercial applications in diverse industries, including semiconductors, energy, telecommunications, life sciences, climate change and environmental sustainability.
During the exchanges, attendees learned valuable inside-licensing tips from the expert panel ranging from accessing, searching, and discovering what’s available from FFRDCs and academic labs to negotiating IP rights and licensing agreements, including Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and university agreements.
Visit the LES-SVC website to view the panel materials, https://les-svc.org/event-5266446.
Photos of May Event
Efrat Kasznik, LES-SVC Chapter Chair opens the May Meeting with host, Braden Weatherhead, Director, KPMG.
Silicon Valley Chapter audience at the May Meeting.
LES-SVC leaders at the May Meeting. From left: Michael Pierantozzi, Nitin Shah, Efrat Kasznik, N. Darius Sankey, Larry Udell, Braden Weatherhead (KPMG, Host), and Kent Richardson (Sponsor)
Panel of speakers at the May Meeting. From left: Genaro Mempin, Laleh Shayesteh, N. Darius Sankey, Katharine Ku, and moderator, Nitin Shah.
Perspectives on IP Licensing in the Semiconductor Ecosystem:
On Wednesday, June 21st, more than 70 participants gathered at the Plug and Play Center in Sunnyvale, CA to discuss and learn about “Perspectives on IP Licensing in the Semiconductor Ecosystem.” The event was hosted by IPValue Management.
Michael Pierantozzi, LES-SVC Board Member and Founder/Principal at Andiamo Associates, LLC
moderated the esteemed panel that consisted of:
- Amit Garg, Vice President Partnerships and Acquisitions, IPValue Management
- Adam Khan, Ph.D. Founder and CTO, AKHAN Semiconductor, Inc.
- Subroto Bose, Assistant General Counsel IP Strategy and Development, Marvell
- Kerry Kimes, Senior Director of Business Development, Rambus Inc.
With semiconductor market research provided by Dolcera, the audience gained current insights for a “bread and butter” topic of the LES-SVC community: IP Licensing and semiconductors.
The expert panel covered the technology and business development perspectives of IP licensing in the semiconductor ecosystem from their respective companies, including AKHAN Semiconductor a spin-off venture from Argonne National Laboratory, and IPValue with decades of experience in licensing partnerships with tech companies like most-recently, Intel.
As with the May LES-SVC event, attendees learned valuable inside tips and stories from the panel of operationally seasoned IP licensing executives. The exchanges included preparing company management to align stakeholders in semiconductor IP sale and licensing transactions, whether direct or through partnerships.
Delving deeper into the partnering approach, the panel shared strategies and deep experiences between R&D functions at companies and go-to-market licensing partners like IPValue to create new business opportunities by leveraging IP for commercial success.
Leveraging the May LES-SVC meeting, Adam Khan shared his journey founding AKHAN Semiconductor, Inc., a venture he spun out of Argonne National Laboratory that is pioneering lab-grown, electronics-grade diamond materials and in the early stages of commercialization.
Visit the LES-SVC website to view the panel materials, https://les-svc.org/event-5306208 .
Photos of June Event
Michael Pierantozzi (left) moderates the June panel Amit Garg (left), Adam Khan, Subroto Bose, and Kerry Kimes.
Silicon Valley Chapter audience at the June Meeting.