Intellectual Property Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions

Camelia Gardot, Senior Legal Counsel, Airbus, France

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), whatever the form (patents, trademarks, copyrights, software designs, know-how, trade secrets, domain names etc.), are key assets of a company which substantiate its unique expertise, commercial leadership or notoriety on the market. In the context of a business sale/purchase transaction, the IPR is usually accounted for in the enterprise value and sometimes, can represent the core of the enterprise value and main rationale for a business acquisition, especially when exclusive rights to innovative or single source technologies are at stake.

Camelia Gardot is Senior Legal Counsel – “Mergers and Acquisitions” at Airbus (Defence and Space Division) Practicing as in-house counsel over the last 12 years (mainly for aviation and aerospace companies), she has extensive legal experience in the areas of intellectual property, corporate matters comprising of international and French commercial transactions, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions. Camelia holds a Master’s degree in international business law from the University of Toulouse (France) and a “Mergers and Acquisitions” Diploma from the College of Law of England and Wales.

Airbus is the largest aeronautics and space company in Europe and a worldwide leader. irbus, the largest aeronautics and space company in Europe, is leading the aerospace industry in three sectors: Commercial Aircraft: Airbus is at the forefront of the aviation industry, building innovative commercial aircraft and consistently capturing about half of all commercial airliner orders. Defence and Space: the 2nd largest space company in the world and top 10 defence company which provides tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft as well as space systems, equipment and services. Helicopters: the world’s leading helicopter manufacturer offering the most comprehensive range of civil and military helicopters in the world.