Peter A. Emmi

Peter is a partner and leader in the Technology Transactions practice within Reed Smith’s Global Corporate Group. He has an electrical engineering and intellectual property background, and had worked in the computer science industry prior to his career in the legal services industry. He has extensive experience advising corporate clients regarding tech transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, spinoffs, and complex IP transactional matters, in each case in the intellectual property, information technology, cyber security and privacy practice areas. Peter has provided counsel on numerous intellectual property portfolio and patent prosecution matters. Peter also has extensive experience litigating complex IP matters, with a focus on patent litigation involving technology in the electrical engineering arts.

Peter is a member of Reed Smith’s Emerging Technologies team and a lead Tech Transactions partner in the science, engineering, and software space and handles matters all industries and technologies, including matters for clients in diverse technology fields such as computer software, microelectronics, IoT and other Internet technology, blockchain, cryptocurrency. He is also a member of On-Chain: Reed Smith’s Crypto & Digital Assets Group which represents clients relating to Cryptocurrency and related mining matters as well as matters relating to other Digital Assets such as Tokens and Stable Coins, and related fractionalization, FinTech, Health / MedTech, InsurTech, information technology systems, telecommunications, media technology, virtual reality, solar, defense and aerospace technology, cyber security, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, data and analytics technology, and data protection.

Prior to his legal career, Peter gained more than four years’ experience as a lead negotiator for IP licenses and agreements for IBM in the Intellectual Property & Licensing (IP&L) of IBM’s Headquarters Division and more than 15 years’ experience as an engineer and manager for IBM in the microelectronics division, during which time, he performed such tasks as card-level electronics design and testing, software development, and semiconductor research and development.

Peter is admitted to practice law in New York, Connecticut, and before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. He has appeared in federal and state courts across the country, including in precedent setting telecommunications and trade secret cases. In addition to being a registered patent attorney, Peter is an inventor on several patents, including U.S. Patent Nos. 6,488 778, 6,387,754, 6,278,147, 6,268,621, 6,178,660 and 6,758,223, and associated foreign counterparts.

He received his J.D. cum laude from Pace Law School in 2004, and M.S. in 1990 in electrical engineering with a Certificate in Microelectronics Manufacturing from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a B.S. in 1988 in electrical engineering with a minor in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Experience

Representative matters

Represented Vista Outdoor (NYSE: VSTO) in its acquisition of Simms Fishing from Castanea Partners.

Represented Verizon, Hearst and Complex Networks in the sale of Complex Networks to BuzzFeed for $300 million, part of BuzzFeed’s business combination with 890 5th Avenue Partners, Inc. (a SPAC)

Represented Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO) in the acquisition of the ABS Suite™ business of Deloitte & Touche LLP.

Represented Vista Outdoor (NYSE: VSTO) in its acquisition of Simms Fishing from Castanea Partners.

Represented Verizon, Hearst and Complex Networks in the sale of Complex Networks to BuzzFeed for $300 million, part of BuzzFeed’s business combination with 890 5th Avenue Partners, Inc. (a SPAC)

Represented Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO) in the acquisition of the ABS Suite™ business of Deloitte & Touche LLP.

Represented a developer and investment manager specializing in cryptocurrency exchange technology and related transactions in the drafting and negotiation of a joint venture agreement with a cryptocurrency technology developer focused on OTC services and applications.

Represented a casino gaming company in the acquisition of gaming assets, including extensive software and brand assets that were owned by another casino gaming company.

Represented a United Kingdom-based investment company relating to purchase of a Russian media company with production facilities in the United States and associated distribution and co-branding agreements

Represented a private equity firm in the acquisition of an Internet-based job portal and analytics website, and the subsequent spin-off of its market analytics subsidiary.

Represented several clients relating to compliance reviews of information technology systems, including penetration testing to support financing, sales or purchases.

Represented several software companies with compliance and due diligence reviews relating to their software products, including scans to assess open source code usage and risks to support financing, sales or purchases.

Represented a hedge fund in the negotiation of hundreds of its vendor agreements with data and analytics content providers.

Represented a virtual reality technology developer in its joint development and co-branding agreements with virtual reality experience developers and theater chains

Represented an InsurTech company in the development of its reseller, user and website agreements.

Represented an Internet-based sports training website in the development of its website policies and agreements with sports networks and sports clubs

Represented a private equity firm in the sale of a portfolio company involved in the supply of semiconductor cleanroom equipment

Represented an international company based in the United States in the spinoff of its IT subsidiary

Represented a private equity company in its purchase and financing of co-location facilities in the United States

Represented a convenience store master franchisor in the acquisition of a large number of convenience stores from a gasoline station master franchisor

Represented a steel manufacturer in the purchase and sale of various manufacturing assets

Represented a private equity firm in the purchase of a trampoline park master franchisor

Represented a multinational information, software and services conglomerate in the sale of its software-based medical services division

Represented a multinational conglomerate in the sale of its governmental turbine business

Represented a finance company in its purchase of the IP of an insolvent entity in an ABC auction, subsequent closing and post-closing work, and management of the prosecution of the IP portfolio

Represented a medical claims processing company in the acquisition of a software-based medical claims processing company

Represented a finance company based in the U.K. in the evaluation and recommendations regarding a license-in of software from a U.S.-based company

Represented a premier company in the area of remote monitoring and control of home-based systems in its filing of inter partes review petitions

Represented a sporting goods company in its acquisition of a hydration products company

Represented a holding company in the negotiation of a credit agreement using the IP rights associated with a large library of music as the primary collateral

Represented a large international spirits distillery and seller as IP counsel in an asset swap deal with another large international spirits distillery and seller

Represented an international engineering company with a diversified product portfolio in the negotiation of a revolving credit agreement using IP as the primary collateral

Represented a large aerospace and munitions company as IP counsel in the spinoff of its sporting goods business and its merger with another aerospace company

Represented one of the largest multinational telecommunications companies in its defense against assertion of several downconverting receiver patents

Represented a large investment holding company in its equity investment in an international designer and seller of clothing and accessories, including performing worldwide due diligence and assessment of risk associated with Chinese trademark squatters

Represented a New York-based international publisher in the sale of its Mexican magazine and website publishing company to a Latin American private equity firm and its contemporaneous purchase of a U.K.-based magazine company from a global media and entertainment conglomerate

Represented a prestigious U.S.-based university in the drafting and negotiation of an IP agreement with a prestigious U.K. university

Represented one of the largest computer companies in the acquisition of an offshore software company relating to a cloud-based system for testing middleware

Represented a biofuel developer in a trade secret action against a competitor that hired its key researcher, and drafted and assisted in negotiation of the associated settlement agreement

Represented an offshore financial services company in its sale of a software-based online insurance business to a large insurance company

Represented one of the largest multinational telecommunications semiconductor developers in its acquisition of a pre-eminent Wifi/Bluetooth semiconductor developer

Represented a pre-eminent food conglomerate in the spinoff of its frozen pizza business to a transnational food company

Representing a private equity firm in its development of a patent portfolio and the subsequent negotiation and sale of the portfolio

Represented a synthetic floor designer and seller in the drafting and negotiating of the settlement agreement, including a patent license with another synthetic floor designer and seller

Represented a pre-eminent cardiovascular stent developer in a series of arbitrations with another stent developer

Represented a multinational conglomerate in its defense against assertion of several interactive voice response system patents

Represented a multinational health care products company in its defense against a motion for a temporary restraining order involving technology relating to tooth-whitening technology

Represented a telephone-based speech recognition software company against assertion of several patents by a multinational computer software technology corporation, and drafted and negotiated the settlement agreement

Represented a large engineering conglomerate in its defense against assertion of a circuit patent directed toward arc-fault circuit interrupter technology, and drafted and negotiated the settlement agreement

Represented a multinational pharmaceutical company in its defense against an ANDA lawsuit brought by several generic pharmaceutical companies

Represented one of the largest computer companies in the drafting and negotiation of a patent cross-license agreement with a pre-eminent video graphics processor semiconductor developer.