Kevin Fournier

Kevin supports businesses with their intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, copyrights (including software), and trade secrets/know how/rights in confidential information.

He helps small inventors, start-ups and SMEs to assess the likely patentability of new ideas, and establish the best way to file patent applications, keeping costs down as low as possible.

With an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering and having worked in IBM’s intellectual property legal department for nearly 25 years, Kevin has amassed in-depth experience in the field of IP law, with a specialty in computer-based technology.

He has a particular interest and emphasis on Blockchain, AI, quantum, semiconductors, software in general, IT networking, and hardware infrastructure.

Kevin is qualified to practice law in two US jurisdictions, and to practice patent matters before the US Patent & Trademark Office, as well as the European Patent Office, allowing clients to benefit from a multi-jurisdictional IP perspective.

Drawing on his extensive experience at IBM, Kevin supports businesses to ready themselves for acquisition or investment, by providing an IP audit.

He can also handle a wide variety of transactional matters – from agreements involving patent licensing, know-how licensing, IT services, technology and business consulting, to JVs, JDA collaborations, sub-contractors, employees, M&A, strategic partnerships and software licensing – including source code licensing, open source, standards bodies, and related due diligence.

He has a particular interest in handling IP ownership, license, warranty and indemnity clauses in projects where new IP will be created. His work at IBM over 20+ years heavily involved handling these matters in the UK and many other jurisdictions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Kevin also has significant experience from his time at IBM in patent assertion work, from both the patent owner and alleged infringer perspective. This involved assessing infringement evidence, prior art, exhaustion, portfolio balancing payment estimations, damages estimations, claim construction and all related topics, including handling the licensing agreement negotiations.

He enjoys handling IP legal clearance work on a product ready for launch, or a target for acquisition, including assessing legal risks, reviewing relevant contracts, securing appropriate protection, and assessing third party materials (such as open source) included in the product.

Kevin can also perform a freedom to operate study to assess existing third-party patents, or a landscaping study to help uncover new innovation areas.

He enjoys giving talks on any of the above matters to share skills, some of which can be found on his LinkedIn profile.