Dr. Donald Merino

Tech+IP (Taiwan)

Donald Merino, PhD is the founder of Asia Patent Group, a licensing and advisory firm that helps inventors, companies, and universities develop IP strategies, advance their inventions, and identify paths to monetization. Over the past four years, he has led major projects for U.S. and international clients, serving as advisor to the CEOs of Via Licensing and HEVC Advance—both global leaders in technology pool licensing—as well as to some of China’s largest handset and internet companies. During this period, Dr. Merino completed more than 50 licensing deals with Chinese and Taiwanese companies and built relationships with nearly all major handset, communications equipment, and television manufacturers in the region.

Dr. Merino brings extensive global experience in IP transactions and business development. At Intellectual Ventures, where he served as Vice President and General Manager for Intellectual Property, his team completed more than 1,200 transactions valued at over $1 billion—half of which he personally led. Later, as Senior Vice President for Licensing, he drove more than $1 billion in licensing revenue, personally developing and closing over $500 million in committed revenue through deals with companies including American Express, Verizon, Samsung, LG, Hynix, HTC, and Sony.

Previously, Dr. Merino was Director of Strategic Business Development and Co-Director of Licensing at Intel, where he managed a $250M/year licensing program. He also served as Director of Licensing at General Instrument Corp., representing the company on the MPEG LA board.
Dr. Merino is a Certified Licensing Professional and holds a Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in interdisciplinary studies from the Stevens Institute of Technology. He earned his BS from the U.S. Naval Academy and served as a naval officer aboard the USS New Jersey and USS Arkansas, including a Middle East deployment supporting Special Forces, for which he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal.