Vella will assist clients with patent development and litigation issues.
Prince Lobel is pleased to welcome Matthew Vella as a partner in its Intellectual Property Practice Group. Vella has an extensive background in patent licensing and defense, having served as the President and CEO of Acacia Research, a patent licensing company devoted to helping inventors and companies both large and small develop their patents for sale and defend them against unauthorized users.
In his role at Acacia, Vella managed the development, licensing, and defense of 250 patent portfolios and helped the company generate more than one billion dollars in revenue from licensing efforts. That licensing work included advising patent owners on structuring the appropriate corporate entity and securing financing for their licensing programs. Vella began his career at Acacia as Vice President of Licensing in 2006 and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming Executive Vice President in 2011, President in 2012, and adding the role of CEO to his duties in 2013.
Prior to leading Acacia Research, Vella was Senior Intellectual Property Counsel for ATI Research, Inc., now a part of Advanced Micro Devices. Vella defended and asserted ATI patents against other companies and helped develop ATI’s portfolio by seeking out patents for licensing. He also served as Lead Patent License Counsel for telecommunications company Nortel Networks, where he supervised patent licensing programs and patent infringement lawsuits.
At Prince Lobel, Vella will assist clients with patent licensing, litigation, and defense, along with portfolio development. “We are very excited to bring Matt’s unique talents to our firm,” said Managing Partner Craig M. Tateronis. “He is an international leader in all areas of patent licensing, development, and litigation, and our clients will benefit from the insights that he has gained as a licensing executive and a business leader.”
Robert Gilman, chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Group, added, “Having worked with Matt as our client since his days at Nortel, we know that he brings unmatched experience in advising patent holders on every aspect of monetizing their IP.”
Vella expressed enthusiasm for the work he will be doing at Prince Lobel. “We want to serve a very large unmet need in the market,” he said. “Most technology companies, particularly smaller and mid-sized companies, simply do not have the resources to license their patents to large, well-financed, and litigious competitors. Our litigation and licensing expertise will unlock the legal, technological, and financial resources that our clients need to license their patents.”
Vella holds a B.S. in engineering from Carleton University in Ottawa as well as a J.D. in Intellectual Property Law from the University of Toronto Law School.