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4 North Second Street Suite 590 San Jose, CA 95113 TEL: 408-280-5800 FAX: 408-280-5873
Patent and Licenses
The San Jose Law Offices of Fernando V. Hernandez represents technology companies and their investors, as well as individual engineers, inventors, and scientists in patent licensing and royalty disputes. Fernando V. Hernandez is highly qualified in the area of patent licensing. Before obtaining his both his B.S. in Business and Economics and his M.B.A. from Santa Clara University, he worked an electrical engineer. His experience and education gives him insight into the issues involved in complex licensing and royalty matters, and allows him to provide thorough representation for his clients. As part of this comprehensive approach to clientsâ?? matters, we have included the following answers to some of our clientsâ?? most frequently asked questions.
Q. What do I have to do to recover benefits I am entitled to under a patent or licensing agreement?
A. Â If you are owed benefits under a patent or licensing agreement, our firm will negotiate with the company that is obligated to you for the licensing and royalty fees. If our negotiations do not result in a settlement, we can pursue the issue by filing your claim in court. Our firm has achieved substantial successes in patent and licensing royalty cases, including one of our largest settlements. In this case, we represented an engineer who licensed a computer power supply design to a computer manufacturer who failed to pay royalties under the licensing contract. After a year of litigation, we obtained a $1,050,000 settlement for our client.
Q. What do I need to bring with me to our first consultation?
A. It is important to bring copies of all of your licensing, patent, or royalty agreements that you entered into with the company that you believe owes compensation to you. Our firm will need as much information as possible to determine whether or not you have a case and what the relevant issues of the case may be. For example, we will need to see whether a licensing agreement provides for a onetime payment, percentage of sales, fixed amount paid periodically, milestone payments, or another licensing arrangement or combination of payment methods.
Q. What are the attorneys' fees charged in patent, licensing, and royalty cases?
A. In patent, licensing, and royalty cases, our firm negotiates with clients to determine a fee arrangement. As with any business case, our fees will depend on the circumstances and complexities of each particular case. Fees are not set on a contingency or hourly basis, but will depend on the matter to be resolved. If you would like to discuss the facts of your case and the fees that may be involved, please contact our offices to schedule a consultation.
Q. How long will a patent, licensing, or royalty case take to resolve?
A. Every case is different, and the length of time a case will take cannot be estimated. The length of the case may depend on many circumstances, including whether the case can settle or whether it must go to trial. Although in some cases litigation may be the best way to achieve profitable results, it is not unusual for a trial to take months or even years before reaching a conclusion. However, we are often able to settle a case prior to litigation or while a trial is ongoing.
