Devoted to Corporate Attorneys, Corporate Lawyers, and Corporate Counsel

The following is not meant to be legal advice.

When conducting due diligence of a target that has been hit with a patent lawsuit claiming patent infringement, the potential acquirer may be interested in obtaining a patent opinion in order to feel secure that the patent complaint does not lead to financial concerns for the potential acquirer.

For the target, the patent opinion may close any questions on whether the plaintiff in the patent case has any valid claims.  However, in order to preserve attorney-client privilege, the target should discuss joint defense with the potential acquirer if the potential acquirer wants to read the patent opinions prior to closing the transaction.