SANDY GODSEY, MS, JD

ad0nxg@r.postjobfree.com • 858-***-**** • https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-l-godsey/

Highly Experienced General Counsel / Chief Legal Officer

Intellectual Property • Patent Law • Technology Expertise • Contracts & Licensing • Team & Operations Leadership

— Executive Summary —

Chief Legal Officer and Corporate General Counsel with unique history of technology development, intellectual property management, patent portfolio protection, patent law, and technology licensing in NA, Asia, and Europe. Led IP acquisitions for eBay, PayPal, and Amazon, managed IP portfolios at Qualcomm, Amazon, PayPal, Motorola, and tech startups.

Patent portfolio and technology innovation leader with 20+ years of experience in telecom, e-commerce and fintech. Oversaw technology development for multiple products and markets. Expert in telecom standards, automotive technology, IP acquisition, cross-border patent management, licensing, manufacturing, marketing, and sales.

Organization strategist, builder, and leader with outstanding communication skills, adept at scaling companies, building teams, mentoring talent, and inspiring employees to achieve success. Expert in R&D, operations, and program management. Strong analytical, reporting, and negotiating skills. JD with focus on IP law and corporate law.

— Areas of Expertise —

Intellectual Property Law • International Law • Patent / IP Protection • Patent Portfolio Management • Strategic Planning

Global Operations Management • Startups • Technology Commercialization • E-Commerce • Negotiations • Contract Law

Patent Law • Commercialization Strategy • Trademarks • Team Building • Technology Innovation • Product Development

— Career Highlights —

Build strong IP portfolio in every role including for eBay, PayPal, and Amazon, and currently building and managing large IP portfolio for Metawave Corporation with 76 patents issued in fewer than 6 years.

Resolved complex licensing dispute with Qualcomm for critical wireless technology to eliminate millions in costs and enable profitable launch and explosive sales that made Kindle one of Amazon's most profitable products.

Built Qualcomm IP portfolio protection strategy and led patent assertion to eliminate infringements, negotiated licensing agreements to gain hundreds of millions for IP revenue making up 80% of company income.

Planned and executed IP segregation for eBay's PayPal spinoff to ensure equitable, strategy-aligned asset portfolios, maximize IP protection, and optimize tax strategy for hundreds of millions in assets.

Led creation and development of PayPal technology Innovation Lab and IP team to incubate new patentable technologies and accelerate commercialization, driving significant new revenue streams.

Career History

Chief Legal Officer 2017 – Present

Metawave Corporation Carlsbad, CA

Co-founder of pre-revenue tech startup developing highly complex autonomous vehicle smart radar and 5G technology startup to build operations and team. and manage growth. Oversees multiple functions including operations, HR, legal, IP, patenting, and licensing. Implemented mature processes to minimize the need for outsourced counsel.

Growth management by hiring and onboarding team, arranging lease of larger facility, establishing IP portfolio management processes, filing patent applications, and negotiating license agreements.

Built IP portfolio of new-to-market technology and managed patent process, submitting over 300 patent applications and receiving 70+ issued patents.

Negotiated global technology contracts with the federal government and leading automotive and defense firms as well as global supplier network determining hundreds of millions in revenue and IP development costs.

Negotiated complex funding agreements with venture capital firms and global technology corporations to obtain millions in R&D funding resulting in innovative new products that generated millions in additional revenue.

Associate General Counsel, Innovation & Patents 2011 – 2017

eBay & PayPal San Jose, CA

Recruited by eBay to build out IP department including organization of technology development operations and creation of effective IP management and legal protection function. Expanded IP / patent team from 3 to 15, insourced legal operations to significantly cut costs. Managed legal aspects of 2015 PayPal divestiture. Managed budgets over $50M.

Oversaw IP and patent portfolio split between eBay and PayPal, protected eBay IP assets during spinoff, conducted IP asset valuation to minimize tax burden, managed all licensing and contracting seamless separation of 2 companies.

Developed patent protection strategies to support eBay expansion into rapidly growing mobile commerce and mobile payment space and implementation of new cloud technologies.

Silicon Valley Woman of Influence, March 2017 Silicon Valley Business Journal; 2014 winner, Patent Strategy for Large Companies, by The Recorder for eBay IP strategy; eBay Patent Quality Award from IAM, June 2014.

Rayspan, Chief Legal Officer 2011-2012

Hired by developer of advanced miniaturized antenna technology to build and manage patent portfolio and negotiate licensing agreements with major telecoms including Sysco, Netgear, Samsung, and Nokia. Managed in-house and external legal counsel in US and abroad, directed major patent litigation, led IP due diligence research, chaired Patent Committee.

Associate General Counsel, Intellectual Property 2009 –2011

Amazon Seattle, WA

Brought in to unravel and resolve licensing disagreements with Qualcomm about critical wireless technology used in new Kindle product, successfully negotiating licensing fee reduction to save hundreds of millions of dollars. Organized and managed large patent portfolio, oversaw foreign patent filings, developed open-source technology strategy.

Managed FTC approval process and ITC investigation and resolved potentially crippling Qualcomm technology licensing dispute to enable 2007 launch and explosive growth of one of Amazon's most profitable revenue streams.

Patent Manager 2000 – 2009

Qualcomm San Diego, CA

Asked to join to provide legal support to Qualcomm R&D operations in collaboration with Chief Technology Officer and product development leaders. Trained legal team on patent application process and patent / IP portfolio management, developed foreign patent filing and IP protection strategies. Co-Chair of Patent Review Board.

Led IP management and protection strategy to eliminate patent infringements and negotiated licensing agreements for hundreds of millions with top cellular clients making up 80% of company revenue.

Patent Counsel 1995 – 2000

Motorola San Diego, CA

Hired as product development engineer, earned law degree in 1997, promoted to work in Tokyo to organize technology licensing for Japanese partners, negotiated favorable licensing agreements for Motorola with Japanese partners including Toshiba to significantly increase Japanese licensing revenues.

Law Firm Experience

Satellite Patent Attorney, Schwegman, Lundberg, Woessner P.A., Seattle, WA

Intellectual Property & Patent Attorney, J.V. Myers & Associates, P.C., Cupertino, CA

Education

Juris Doctor (JD), University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX

Master of Science, Electrical Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

Admitted: State Bar of California, United States Patent and Trademark Office

Awards: Women of Influence, Silicon Valley; Best Legal Dept. Patent Portfolio.

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