Ned E. Barlas concentrates his practice on intellectual property licensing, technology transfer and strategic counseling in a wide variety of fields, including software, hardware, semiconductor, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical instrumentation, nanotechnology, chemical processes, oil and gas production, process controls, and consumer products. This includes structuring and negotiating the technology transfer aspects of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances; drafting and negotiating inbound and outbound patent, copyright, software, trademark, and trade secret and know-how licenses; and drafting and negotiating settlement and license agreements in connection with patent disputes. Representative examples of Mr. Barlas’ experience include:
- structuring the sale of a division of an industry leading software company to one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers
- drafting and negotiating an enterprise software license on behalf of a U.S. subsidiary of a German conglomerate to one of Mexico’s largest mobile phone service providers
- negotiating the technology transfer aspects of a cross-border acquisition of a $250 million silicon wafer fab among parties in Russia, France, Germany and the U.S.
- representing a hedge fund in connection with its acquisition of a well known consumer products company with a significant patent and trademark portfolio
- drafting and negotiating a pharmaceutical patent license arrangement for a novel treatment of endometriosis, including the rights to manufacture, perform clinical trials on, market and sell the product
- representing an industry leading manufacturer of ink cartridges for commercial printers in connection with a license and manufacturing joint venture among Chinese, German and U.S. companies
- drafting and negotiating a settlement and license agreement on behalf of one of the nation’s largest mobile telephone service providers in connection with the settlement of a patent infringement suit
- negotiating a set of multimillion dollar enterprise software licenses on behalf of a consortium of 11 colleges and universities
- negotiating numerous license, manufacturing and supply agreements on behalf of a global manufacturer of components and systems for injectable drug delivery.
Prior to joining Akin Gump, Mr. Barlas served as senior vice president and general counsel of Axeda Systems Inc., a publicly held enterprise software company. Before that, Mr. Barlas was senior vice president and general counsel of RAVISENT Technologies Inc., a publicly held provider of digital media software and hardware solutions to the personal computer and consumer electronics industries. Mr. Barlas was responsible for all aspects of the legal functions for RAVISENT and Axeda and provided strategic advice and counsel to senior management and the boards of directors. Prior to joining RAVISENT, Mr. Barlas had been in private practice for nine years, focusing on corporate and intellectual property transactional law.
Mr. Barlas has lectured and written extensively in the area intellectual property law, and he is active in the legal and professional communities. Mr. Barlas’ positions have included:
- adjunct faculty member at the Villanova University School of Law teaching contract drafting
- chair of the Advanced Technology & Computers Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association
- member of the Mid-Atlantic District Export Council, by appointment of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce
- member of the U.S. – Israel Technology Commission Task Force on Legal, Patent and Intellectual Property Rights
- program coordinator for the Software License Committee of the Licensing Executives Society (U.S.A and Canada)
- vice-chair of the Patent and Technology License Working Group of the Licensing Executives Society International
- member of the Association of University Technology Managers
- member of the Standards Setting Committee of the Intellectual Property Owners Association.
Mr. Barlas received his B.A. in economics from Swarthmore College in 1985 and his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990, where he served on the editorial board of the
University of Pennsylvania Law Review. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar.