Bio

For close to 20 years, Gilbert Villaflor has counseled companies on sophisticated intellectual property and technology-driven business deals with significant strategic impact. A seasoned lawyer with in-house experience, Gilbert Villaflor advises clients on challenging business and intellectual property (IP) issues associated with the development, licensing, distribution, sale, and acquisition of technology products and services. His clients include established global companies and early-stage ventures driving innovation in cloud computing, software, immersive technologies, and machine learning. He also represents companies engaged in interactive entertainment, video games, semiconductors, blockchain and non-fungible tokens, big data analytics, and life sciences. Gilbert works with clients from the research and development stage through commercialization and distribution. He routinely structures, negotiates, and advises clients on complex agreements, including those for IP licensing and development, professional services, software, software as a service (SaaS), multimedia content, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), distribution, strategic alliances, go-to-market, manufacturing, and joint venture arrangements. Clients rely on him to help them address thorny issues and develop strategies relating to IP ownership, protection, and licensing; data privacy and security; open-source software usage; monetization models; risk mitigation; and prelitigation dispute analysis and resolution. He also counsels clients on strategic mergers and acquisitions (M&A), financings, divestitures, and investments. Gilbert draws on his molecular biology degree and industry experience in immunology-related research to advise clients in the life sciences, including biotechnology and medical devices. His background helps Gilbert devise optimal solutions for development and collaboration arrangements, patent and trade secret licensing, and technology transfers. In addition, Gilbert assists companies in less traditionally technology-focused industries as they undergo digital transformations and implement technologies to adapt and grow their businesses. He has extensive experience representing both providers and customers on information technology transactions, including various as-a-service models, enterprise resource planning, system integrations, and managed services. Gilbert previously served as in-house IP transactions counsel for a Fortune 200 technology company, where he was responsible for partnering directly with company stakeholders on operational and product development issues. He also served as a trusted business partner to leadership teams on key strategic initiatives. This experience enables him to understand what is important to businesses, provide actionable advice, and help clients manage both legal and business risks.