Bloomberg: In a bizarre series of events, former Kirkland & Ellis partner John Desmarais has founded his own intellectual property firm, Desmarais. The firm’s mandate: to enforce patents owned by Desmarais and his other clients. This December, Desmarais bought a portfolio of some 4,500 patents from the microchip manufacturer Micron Technology. The portfolio is owned by the former Kirkland attorney’s company Round Rock Research, LLP.
The move, for the former defense attorney, is a dramatic one. He will now be prosecuting cases against infringers instead of defending the purported wrong doers. Also, his new company is the second largest of its kind, a type of holding entity which does not develop new technology but speculates in patent portfolios.
