Ashwin Gokhale helps public and private technology companies navigate through technology transactions and licensing matters. He draws on his prior experience leading a legal team at a high-growth venture-backed company and his business experience working for various other startups in Silicon Valley to provide practical solutions to the legal and business challenges his clients face.
He regularly negotiates and advises technology companies on a range of intellectual property licensing and other commercial transactions, including agreements for software and hardware development and licensing, manufacturing and distribution, advertising and marketing, patent licensing, mergers and acquisitions and venture capital investments.
Ashwin counsels a broad range of clients—from large public companies to startups and emerging companies—across the tech sector, including AI and machine learning, AdTech and digital media, web services, e-commerce, EdTech, healthcare IT, software, computer hardware and alternative energy.
Litigation
- Hewlett-Packard Enterprise in settlement of patent litigation with ServiceNow
- SanDisk in settlement of trade secret litigation with SK Hynix
- Several agreements for a variety of clients settling patent litigation brought against them by non-practicing entities, including on behalf of Xero Inc. and Millennium Pharmaceuticals.
Mergers & Acquisitions
- Orbitera in its acquisition by Google
- Kountermove in its acquisition by DraftKings
- RedHat in the acquisitions of InkTank Storage and ManageIQ
- Seeo in its acquisition by Bosch
Life Sciences
- Epizyme in the reacquisition of EZH2oncology program rights from Eisai
- Incyte Corporation in the negotiation of a strategic alliance with Agenus Inc. to develop immuno-oncology antibodies
- Roche in a collaboration with Pacific Biosciences
University Licensing and Collaborations
- Several startups in patent licensing agreements covering foundational technology with the University of California
- Brightfield Technologies in patent license with Johns Hopkins University
- Various tech companies with patent licensing and sponsored research agreements with universities including CalTech, Stanford University, the University of Utah and the University of Delaware
Machine Learning / AI
- Metamind in licensing agreements and transactional advice, including the company's acquisition by Salesforce.com
- Pilot AI Labs in various agreements relating to the company's machine learning-based computer vision technology
- Cape Analytics in licensing matters
Hardware
- Broadcom in licensing and collaboration agreements
- Intel Corporation in a variety of patent-related matters
- Lion Semiconductor in several development and licensing agreements
- TiVo Inc. in numerous licensing, collaboration and distribution agreements
Languages
- Marathi
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- California
Education
- University of San Francisco, J.D.: 2006, Member, University of San Francisco Law Review
- University of California at Berkeley, B.A: 2000
Professional Activities
Externships
- The Honorable Susan Illston, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Author
- “Finality of Conviction, the Right to Appeal, and Deportation under Montenegro v. Ashcroft: The Case of the Dog That Did Not Bark,” 40 University of San Francisco Law Review 241 (2005)
Awards
- Recognized as one of the 500 Leading Dealmakers in America by Lawdragon (2024)
- Recognized for Media, Technology and Telecoms: Outsourcing and Transactions in The Legal 500 US (2016–2018)
- Recognized as a "Rising Star" in the technology transactions category in Northern California Super Lawyers (2013–2018)