Alexander Franco

Partner
Email: afranco@patentgc.com

Alexander Franco has over 20 years of experience developing and managing patent portfolios in the high-tech industry. As a patent attorney with a MBA, he brings a business and finance-oriented perspective to the protection of his clients’ intellectual property. His clients at Patent GC include Inpher Inc. and PTC Inc.

Prior to joining Patent GC, Alex served as intellectual property legal counsel for Accenture, a company of more than 250,000 employees, where he handled a diverse range of matters, including patent licensing operations, patent portfolio analysis, invention harvesting, management of outside patent prosecution counsel and open source software policy.

Previously, Alex served as AOL’s in-house patent counsel, managing the company’s patent portfolio, chairing its patent committees, handling incoming patent assertions and engaging in patent license negotiations. Alex developed processes and systems for managing the harvesting, prosecution, maintenance and analysis of thousands of international patent matters. He also provided legal counsel for AOL’s participation in several standards-setting organizations.

Alex began his legal career at Knobbe Martens Intellectual Property Law where he drafted and prosecuted patent applications in several technology areas including computer software/hardware, digital/analog electronics, engine controls and mechanical. Some of his clients included Amazon, Micron Technology, Real Networks and Yamaha.

Alex holds a BS with Distinction in Applied Physics from Cornell University, a Master of Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a joint JD/MBA from the George Washington University.

When Alex is not practicing law or working under the hood of his classic 1961 MGA roadster, you might find him skiing, wakeboarding, swimming or biking. Alex lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, Diana, and children, Sabrina and Austin.