Rajiv P. Patel

When Twitter Inc. received a demand letter alleging patent infringement from International Business Machines Corp., the San Francisco-based microblogging platform turned to Patel and his Fenwick & West team for guidance.

Twitter purchased more than 900 IBM patents and patent applications as part of a $36 million settlement struck late last year.

The deal, Twitter's first major patent transaction, provided a significant boost to the company's patent portfolio.

"It was exciting to work with the in-house legal team at Twitter," Patel said. "It was nice to see the company further enhance their [intellectual property] position. We're seeing a lot of companies do that recently."

Patel also counts San Mateo-based GoPro Inc. as a longtime client ever since the adventure camera company's founder and CEO Nicholas Woodman turned to Patel to build GoPro's patent portfolio from the ground up.

GoPro filed initial documents in February with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering.

Patel's practice is a blend of patent prosecution, litigation counseling and transactional advice with top startup and emerging companies.

He said that while clients recognize how a strong patent portfolio can be used to attract funding and develop litigation strategies, they frequently underestimate the investment required.

"There is this misconception that a patent portfolio is a one-time cost," Patel said.

"You're really investing over a long period of time, setting up the strategy, developing the portfolio, dealing with the examination and prosecution process and the maintenance fees in order to keep patents valid."

- Kevin Lee